Lunch in Buffalo

Santasiero's Italian Restaurant

2011-06-01T13:22:00.000-04:00

This Italian place has been open for over 90 years and many people in Buffalo still haven’t heard of it. Three of the four of us who went just found out about it last week and went for the first time today for lunch. It originally opened in 1921 and has since stayed with the same family ownership in that spot. The restaurant is very close to downtown with it being no more than 10 minutes outside of central city.

This place has generated a lot of talk at work lately about its old fashioned food and hospitality. Many said they have never had a bad meal there. People at work have been raving about the pasta fasoola. We heard former mayor of Buffalo Anthony Masiello was known to visit there often when he was mayor.

We called ahead today to find out if they could pre-order to eat there and they said they can't do that. They also don't take reservations. We also found out they don’t have coffee and dessert didn’t appear on the menu. No salad came with the dinner meals or a side of pasta with it. The meals only come with bread. On the menu, salad is an extra 5 dollars. To upgrade to garlic bread, it is $3.50. A side of pasta is $3.25. Special sauces such as garlic & oil is expensive at $3.75 extra. Not a pleasant start knowing about it before we got there minus the tremendous word of mouth in the office, but it changed when we arrived.

We sat in the back room with the menu on the wall as there were three small dining rooms in the one restaurant... all not very big. The tables are small and most are crammed next to one another. We can imagine how busy it would be during dinner time, especially with the parking scattered around, because the place during lunch was over half full when we went. We didn't look at a paper menu and knew what we were ordering. We ordered stuffed shells, meatballs, sausage, spaghetti, and pasta fasool. We asked the waitress what chances we would be out of the restaurant in a half hour and she said very good unless you order a parm meal. Two of us were going to order chicken parm so we decided to skip out on that and get a pasta. This turned out to be the right move since the food came out in 5 to 10 minutes.

Before we got our food, several slices of Italian bread came out on a plate with packets of butter... no bread plates so we used our napkins. The pasta fasoola was loaded with beans on top. However, there was no red sauce with it like an Italian family at home would make. It went outside of the traditional red sauce or being like a soup and it was mostly beans, pasta, and broth, but still very nice. There are many variations to this Italian dish. A side of hot banana peppers came out in a cup with it which added a kick to it. With the stuffed shells dish, there were three stuffed shells on the dinner plate with tons of red sauce on top. The food was very warm and the ricotta cheese in the stuffed shells was great. There was a lot of spaghetti in its dish and the meatballs were delicious. The red sauce had a mixed response. One thought it was bland and another thought it wasn't sweet and another thought it had a nice spice to it. However, we agreed it was much better tasting than Chef's.

On top of the food, the service was great. We got out on our timed schedule. We were mostly pleased with our food and service and enjoyed our time there. It isn't at the top of being the best Italian restaurant in Buffalo due to its size and variety, but it is close due to its old style tradition. We would definitely come back for lunch another time though.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Santasiero's Italian Restaurant
www.santasieros.com
1329 Niagara Street
Buffalo, NY 14213
716-886-9197

Suzy Q's Barbeque Shack

2011-05-24T14:07:00.001-04:00

On Friday for lunch, we had BBQ from Fat Bob's Smokehouse. The following day, one of us had Famous Dave's BBQ, which could easily be the best BBQ place in Buffalo. However, there are a few more local BBQ places to cover, even though there aren't many BBQ places in Buffalo to begin with. We would have gone here probably a year ago when we found out about it... they are not too far from downtown, but they do not deliver. We called at 11am when they open to see if they are open for lunch today and we put in a reservation.

Suzy Q's is an independent place near downtown Buffalo not many people from Buffalo are familiar with due to its location along Niagara St. by the 190 that doesn't warrant a lot of traffic. Compared to a chain, their menu is more limited and constricted. There are no nachos and the restaurant aims to be more Southern BBQ. The appetizers and starters are scarce to choose from. However, for only $10.50, you get to order two of their meats and two of their sides. They are not open on Sundays and Mondays and they only accept cash. Since they only take cash, the prices on the menu are reduced and lower by almost half of what Fat Bob's charges on some of their menu items.

When we walked in, we were welcomed and greeted by Suzy herself. There was a piece of paper on our table that said 'save this table' for us. She told us right away when we sat down that a few items were not available, which included the fire and ice pickles and the ball tip beef, which was a disappointment. Seeing that this place has won best of WNY awards for their pulled pork, all three of us ordered the pulled pork and two of us tried out the smoked turkey and the chicken. None of us tried out the sausage which we heard was their best meat. On the front page of the menu, it says how they smoke fresh BBQ every day, but then it says, "Your best bet is to call ahead, 'cause when it's gone, it's gone, and so are we." We also found out that the cornbread was a side that cost extra.

Suzy was the only server and waitresses there. She was very attentive covering all the tables in the entire restaurant. Judging by the people inside who were eating with us, we knew we came to the right place. There were a group of biker guys, a group of five cops, a lady who came back by herself after a great meal over the weekend, and a group of guys in suits and ties... so a very diverse group of individuals.

We were served with plastic forks, cups, and knives. Our drinks were actual cans of pop that only cost a dollar. This place has a lot of methods of keeping their costs down to provide their customers with a cheaper dining experience that still has fine BBQ.

With our meal, they ended up giving us eight big square pieces of their cornbread for the price of two. These were not your typical cornbreads either. One of us who isn’t a fan of cornbread liked it very much. There was actually more cornbread on the table than actual meat. It had some sort of sugar coating on top like it came from a fair and the crust was toasted like it was almost eating a dessert as we joked about eating it as our dessert too.

There were three BBQ bottles out on table. One was called North Carolina which was a vinegar, liquidly sauce. The original everyone enjoyed and their hot BBQ sauce was used often on our food. We learned from Suzy that her husband makes all the sauces from scratch. They also sell t-shirts that say 'nice rack' on them as well as other designs. There's no bar in this place but they do serve alcohol.

When the food came out, they were on styrofoam plates and the sides were in little styrofoam cups. Everyone had fantastic things to say about the sides, which was a highlight of our meal. The baked beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, fried corn, and the macaroni and cheese were all very delicious. The fried corn had a nice hot kick to it as Suzy warned us ahead of time and it may have been the best corn this person ever had. The meats, however, were smoked without the sauce so we had to add the BBQ sauces from the table to put on our food. The turkey was quite normal, but the chicken was very tender.

Overall, the food and experience of having a lunch in this little place were terrific. There's no sense or aspect of this place being a chain at all. Stripped down, this would be considered a small gem of Buffalo that’s still running successfully. The cornbread and sides were outstanding, but the meat and atmosphere were far none better than a place like Famous Dave's if you want to bring family and friends out.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

Suzy Q's Barbeque Shack
www.suzy-que.blogspot.com
2829 Niagara Street
Buffalo, NY 14207
716-873-0757

Imperial Pizza

2011-04-19T12:54:00.000-04:00

Most, if not all, of the Southtown pizzerias do not cater to downtown. Some set a minimum delivery order, but most are not willing to drive the extra ten minutes to downtown areas. If you look, we haven't had a pizza from south of downtown ever reviewed on this site.

We were told by a couple people at work how amazing this pizza is compared to any pizza we've had for lunch here. The problem was this pizza, to our knowledge, leftovers or fresh, has never been in the building. We knew this place won't deliver so we were considering taking a longer lunch to drive down there, pick it up, and come back. We've heard they don't have much of an eating area inside either.

Fortunately enough for us, one of our coworkers was off today and was kind enough to pickup the pizza a half hour before our lunchtime and deliver it straight to us. They don't have a website so we were looking at pictures of the menu online. We were surprised at how cheap the prices were. For a sheet pizza and an item, it was about 22 dollars which is a few dollars less than the norm. However, we decided to go with the basics to try out how they are. We ordered a large cheese pizza with pepperoni, as well as quarter size pizza with hot peppers and onion and a mini turkey and cheese sub. We skipped out on the BBQ wings even though we were told they are the best in the city.

Thanks to our coworkers, the delivery was prompt right before our lunchtime. Everything we requested came including plates and napkins. They have their own labeled blue cheeses, pizza boxes, sub wraps, and even napkins. The menu we got stated they do downtown delivery which we found interesting though since we called before and said they don’t.

Incredibly high expectations were set for this pizza. We heard the pizza is similar to Bocce Club pizza. Well, that comparison couldn't be more right. The appearance of the pizza right away from opening the box looked exactly like it. The crust style was extremely similar with that thick, but light and fluffy crust. The pepperonis are the same as well as the sauce they use. This was not a greasy pizza or soggy pizza where one would have to fold it up and eat it like a taco. We are not sure what the whole story was if more of the owners split which is what happened to Bocce Club, but we know that the location on Abbott was a Bocce Club. This pizza fulfilled our expectations.

Considering the Bocce Club pizzerias are among the top favorites in the north suburbs of Buffalo, this place ranks with it in comparison. If the menu is true that they do in fact deliver to downtown Buffalo, then we would absolutely order pizza from here again.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Imperial Pizza
1035 Abbott Road
Buffalo, NY 14220
716-825-3636

Laughlin's

2011-03-30T13:55:00.001-04:00

This week is local restaurant week. Over a hundred local restaurants are participating in having an exclusive menu for a special price which is represented by the year. It's been going on for a few years now. Some of us at work decided to go out for lunch for it. After looking over the list online to find downtown ones with a lunch menu, we narrowed it to several options. We came to a consensus and ended up with Laughlin's.

This is an untraditional lunch review because we didn't walk there or get it for delivery. We drove there and dined in. We called to make reservations ahead of time and to ask about the parking. A weakness of downtown dining is the parking. Most places downtown don't have parking lots and if they do, there is a charge. Well, this place doesn't have a lot and the surrounding ones are restricted so all that was available was street parking.

For local restaurant week, they offered lunch for 2 between Monday and Friday for an appetizer and two sandwiches. They also have a Grandma's Stuffed Hot Pepper on their regular menu, which was intriguing to order. A lot of places offered drinks and desserts on theirs, but those were not included with this place.

When we arrived, we were welcomed by a friendly staff and an upscale dining area. We walked upstairs to be seated. Our table overlooked the bar below which was a unique view. Not only was the interior nice, but our seating was as well. The chairs for our table were comfortable with cushions on the seat and back. The crowd today comprised of mostly business professionals in suits. We even saw Buffalo's own mayor here too. We strongly suggest making reservations here as they were worth it since the dining space isn’t too large.

We ordered two of the lunch specials and split them. We started with the hot banana peppers and they gave us three of them with fresh homemade bread. This appetizer was extra and it was better than most places that offer hot stuffed banana peppers. We also had a shrimp cocktail and crab cakes to share as part of the local restaurant deal. This food was an excellent beginning to an amazing meal. There were two crab cakes and everyone said nothing but high remarks toward them. The sauces for the crab cakes and shrimp were great. The seasoning on the shrimp blended in well.

Let me tell you something, this food was outstanding... every little piece of it from the salt to the side sauces. We were to the point of almost being overwhelmed. Waiting about 15 minutes before any food came out, the food was worth the time and the money we paid for it. For local restaurant week, they gave us monstrous portions and the sandwiches were huge. For sides, we had an option of picking either fries or a salad for our side. We were very happy that our sandwiches included such sides as they weren't on the local restaurant week menu. The salad had a ton of lettuce in it and these were some of the best fries we ever had a restaurant like this.

This is a place not only we would go back here for lunch, but also for dinner. This was certainly an overall outstanding meal at every aspect of dining.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Laughlin's Hearty Bistro
www.laughlinsrestaurant.com
333 Franklin Street
Buffalo, NY 14202
716-842-6700

Chris' NY Sandwich Co.

2011-03-25T12:47:00.000-04:00

We heard about this place last year, but never thought they delivered. With no website and little word of mouth in the office up until this week, we didn't take the five to ten minute walk over the past year either. This week, one of us got a menu from someone in the office. It's their new menu as of January 2011 and on the bottom of the menu it says 'We Deliver' so we decided to give them a shot today.

The menu isn't cheap for lunch. The average price for a sandwich is slightly over nine dollars. There are the typical deli sandwiches, grilled sandwiches, specialty sandwiches, salads, and desserts. None come with any side such as fries. It appears this place doesn't have a deep fryer by the look of the menu. They come with an option of chips instead which seems standard across sandwich delis, but later we found out different. They also cater out lunches with their sandwich platters.

We called the day before to confirm delivery for today and how late we could call in our big order by. The menu stated a delivery charge of 10% for any orders over $50. This was a tedious hassle of thinking about it. Inane delivery charges with percentages like these hold us back from ordering from those places again because of the trivial calculations involved on individual orders. Also, a smaller tip would likely be involved due to the percentage instead of a fixed rate. We had 11 people on the order as the orders today ranged from Tuna to Hawaiian Chicken Salads as they were all sandwiches.

Our sandwiches were wrapped up individually in brown bags with our names written on them. Inside the bag, there were little containers where our sandwiches were compacted to fit in this little box. We thought we would need a second lunch for today. There was one glaring mistake... one of us got the meatloaf sandwich which came plain and we even said over the phone no tomato, lettuce, and cheese. Well, the meatloaf sandwich came with all three of those ingredients.

The menu was quite misleading. Lots of us were expecting and wanted chips with our meals but they didn't come with them... not even a pickle. It also stated 'Fudge Brownies.' However, it was just one brownie, but rich in flavor similar to a Little Debbie brownie almost. The 'Assorted Gourmet Cookies' were actually just one big chocolate chip cookie, which resulted in laughs from us in disbelief. The biggest hit believe it or not was the Tuna Sandwich. It was the biggest one of them all, which it had to be for spending over nine dollars for Tuna. One said it was a little dry without enough mayo though. We felt the type of customer they get is the artsy type who gets full from a tiny meal.

Overall, we thought the food itself was bigger than the norm though and quite delicious, but it left us wanting more of it... it just wasn't enough for us as we needed more items to complement our food like chips, fries, macaroni salads, etc. We were not sure if our food was worth the price, but the price reflects the sole quality of the sandwich alone.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

Chris' NY Sandwich Co.
395 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
716-854-6642

Louie's Hot Dogs

2011-03-10T12:51:00.002-05:00

We were surprised to find out Louie's Hot Dogs had a delivery service. They advertise delivery on their website and that they are open in the morning. Considering they are known to be mostly a late night eat, we sought to try out hot dogs for delivery for the first time. They’re also not far away from downtown… one of their locations is on Elmwood which is about five minutes away.

Unsure how finely cooked the hot dogs will be after they've been delivered, we tested them out with only four of us instead of our massive order size. We also wanted to see if they could label and separate out all individual orders since someone's hot dog could be another person's. We were not sure how the toppings would be included if they would already be on the food or if they were on the side and we'd have to put them on.

Their menu has quite the range for a hamburger and hot dog joint. From subs to baked potatoes to milkshakes, the prices are small and range from two to four dollars mostly. The delivery fee was $2.25. We ended up ordering the "Big Buffalo Burger," a couple of footlongs, a couple of French fries with gravy, a quarter pounder, and a couple of bacon cheeseburgers.

The delivery came well over 15 minutes early. All our food was in one medium size Sahlen's box... we couldn't believe everything was in there when we saw the box. We asked the delivery guy if we placed an order for 20 to 30 people, how would we be able to differentiate everything... he said each person's order would be done on an individual receipt and printed out on the individual orders. We found that hard to believe since over the phone they wouldn’t write names on them. He also said they've done a delivery order for over 400 hot dogs before. He practically said whatever we need, such as condiments on the side, they'll do. They also have coupons on their website that don’t expire.

Now, time for the food. In the box, all the food was individually wrapped in wax paper and covered. The ingredients were written on the wax paper to tell which is which and all the ingredients were already placed on the food. They also gave us packets of ketchup, salt, and malt vinegar. Most of the meat felt like street meat though, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It all tasted well, but we could have guessed it came from a hot dog vendor too. Our footlong hot dogs were fine... they loaded the toppings on. The cheese sauce made the hot dog taste even better. The sauce on the Big Buffalo Burger was amazing. It was loaded with hot sauce and the blue cheese was creamy instead of the crumbed dry blue cheese some places use. The only weakness about the food were the shoestring fries, but that's not their problem. They were quite soggy by the time we ate them. However, the side of gravy side we dipped them in certainly made them better.

This would be the place if you want hot dogs delivered. On a rainy summer day if you are craving for them, pick up the phone and call for delivery. They have specials on their website too and there is no minimum charge. We would order from here again for sure.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5

Louie's Original Footlong Hot Dogs
www.louieshotdogs.com
470 Elmwood Ave
Buffalo, NY 14222
716-884-0382

Kentucky Fried Chicken

2011-03-08T16:10:00.002-05:00

Today is Fat Tuesday so we were looking for a place that could deliver southern fried food to us. Unfortunately, we were not successful at finding such a place that could do so which was a shame. Our next best option was KFC because everyone loves fried chicken from there. They don't have a delivery service and there are a couple places around downtown within ten minutes.

The one in South Buffalo on Abbott road by Seneca and Bailey is the one we went to pickup our food. This is the nearest location to central downtown. Afraid the area wouldn't be too safe, we took our chances and drove there.

The handful of us who ordered from there today haven't had KFC in such a long time, so this was a tremendous treat. We ended up getting a 16 piece bucket of chicken (half breast and half drumsticks) along with mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, biscuits, coleslaw, and potato wedges. This KFC also has a Taco Bell inside so we got some hot sauce packets from each one. We didn't call ahead or fax our orders... but it felt like it. As soon as we placed order one of two, we received it bagged up in a matter of seconds... literally. The second order was the largest of the two and took only a couple minutes, as it was fast and everything was in there.

There was more food than we initially thought after we were getting to the end of eating. The food was still relatively warm when we got back to eat it. The large mashed potatoes were plenty for two people even though we each got one. They also gave us a bowl of gravy in the same size of container. The macaroni and cheese is one of the finest you can find at a fast food place. The chicken was great as everyone knows. They haven't lost their touch. All the drumsticks were on the bottom of the bucket so it was difficult to pick and choose, but that was the only complaint. Everything was amazing and it felt like a feast... actually it was. You know the food is great when you want to continue eating but you can't because you're full. We ran into that problem during lunch as we had leftovers.

The food and service were outstanding and made for a wonderful Fat Tuesday lunch. It was pure thinking outside of the box to go all for this place. It was well worth the time and effort to receive a delicious lunch some of us were calling the best they had here at work.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Kentucky Fried Chicken
www.kfc.com
170 Abbott Rd
Buffalo, NY 14220
716-826-9068

The Delaware

2011-01-21T13:15:00.002-05:00

No one has heard of this place before we ordered. They have nothing online either. Having a restaurant just named by a street doesn’t tell us anything about the place and it would be harder to find a mention about them anywhere. They were originally going to charge us ten dollars for delivery, but didn't. This was also their first delivery order to anyone. This review is based on the food we got by delivery.

We had about a twenty person order and this would be our first time and most likely last time ordering delivery from this place. We received a menu for this place that wasn't really a menu to begin with. It was an inventory sheet with checkmarks by what they had available at the time. We didn't realize this until we called them back. Most of us wanted the Urnami Brisket Burger which had mushrooms and brie cheese, but for some odd reason, they weren't offering it. More people wanted some other items that weren’t offered as well. This is probably the poorest menu we've seen. A lot of people said the menu had limited items and most of the items were expensive for lunch. We ended up placing the order by phone the day before during the afternoon.

We stood waiting for the delivery driver to get here as they weren’t on time. After receiving a call from the owner about the lateness, a waiter came out of a car and handed us four boxes of food. One of the boxes was a printer box. The driver, who was dressed up as a waiter, was almost ten minutes late. This was unacceptable.

The biggest problem we heard from most people that ordered with us was that the food delivered was fifteen to twenty minutes away and it wasn't warm by the time we were eating it. This was expected, but hurt our experience. They did however write our names on each order which was helpful... but the overall food and extras were mostly negatives from there.

The brisket burger, which was a popular order, was overcooked and dry. The fries were hard and cold The bun itself was pretty plain and standard and had no condiments on it. The lettuce, tomato, and onion were stacked separate from the sandwich. Luckily, they gave us a few plastic cups of mayo and ketchup. Unfortunately, they gave us no utensils at all to spread it on or eat our meals with. There were no napkins either. The stuffed chili pepper was burnt and flavorless. They used American cheese in and on it while no one else does. It was extremely soggy and had no hot taste at all. Other meals ranged from being just okay to some lukewarm responses. The Chicken Paillard had very little taste and left the consumer still looking for something else to eat. There were some bright moments though. The seared salmon burger was to die for. The Pork and Cheddar Tater Tots were tasty, but some of them had no pulled pork in them. The Hot Bag of Doughnuts came with dipping sauces. The chocolate was just like Hershey's chocolate and the doughnuts were high quality like they were fried dough from a fair.

The lesson here is to not order at all for delivery if they don't deliver to begin with, have no catering options, or they are just too far away. Perhaps eating inside their restaurant would give us a different and better experience since this place is not properly suited for the delivery business during lunch.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

The Delaware
3410 Delaware Ave
Tonawanda, NY 14217
716-874-0100

Buffalo Pizza Company

2010-11-23T12:58:00.000-05:00

We have never heard of Buffalo Pizza Company. We thought the name was too generic to be true. Last Friday, a group of people received an order from there and a couple people said it looked worth trying out. Today, we decided to try it out and boy was it ever a mess. Little did they know we have a lunch review website so now this will most likely show up on the first place of online search results, especially when they don't have an online presence.

The easiest order for a pizza place is a large cheese pizza with pepperoni. If you mess up that order, you need to get out of the pizzeria business. We did not have a menu for this place so we looked them up online and found no menu or website. We found the number and called two hours ahead of our delivery time. The order was so simple that it shouldn't be a problem. On the phone, we mentioned we also would like two sides of bleu cheese and plates and napkins. We said this is the first time we are ordering with them and we didn't have a menu so we requested that their driver bring one along. The total came to $19.73.

It was 11:55am and the order did not arrive at the time we asked for. At 12:05pm, ten minutes after, we called back to ask where the driver was and the delivery driver just pulled up. He came in with one box of pizza and by first sight, he was missing a few things. We asked where the plates/napkins were and the driver said it wasn't written on the order. We then asked about the menu and he didn't have one either. He said to look it up online and we said they don't have a website online. The delivery driver just stood there with a dumb expression on his face for a few seconds. That was two strikes already in a matter of seconds. Every pizza delivery driver should have menus in the car anyhow and he didn't. What a shame. We asked about the blue cheese and he said they were in the pizza box. Since we are nice, we ended up giving the driver a tip though.

While we were on the elevator on the way up, we opened the box and there were no blue cheeses. We didn't think they could mess up on the blue cheese too so that was three strikes. We were also charged 70 cents each per on the receipt. The total on the receipt was actually $16.74 so the delivery charge was 3 dollars, which is a dollar more than the norm. We called back and they said they will come back with the blue cheeses. Fifteen minutes later while eating dry pizza as it was average at best, we called another time and got a different person. This person on the phone could not be understood. The guy’s verbal communication was so lousy and he said that they won't come back and deliver just two blue cheeses. He asked if we wanted credit and we declined the credit and said you either give us our money back or come with the blue cheese. They weren't coming back either way and we said we wouldn't order from them

The pizza itself wasn't the problem. This has to be one of the worst costumer services we dealt with. While the pizza was alright but nothing special, we didn't get anything in return for their mistakes. This review was typed up with such anger. We can't imagine if we ordered from this place with a large group of people with service like this... we wouldn't hear the end of it. We would get the blame wrongfully so. We will never order from this place again and you should avoid this place at all costs.

Final Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Buffalo Pizza Company
1769 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14208-1116
(716) 881-1111

Buffalo's Steak & Sub

2010-09-17T13:08:00.001-04:00

This place recently opened last summer along Main Street a few miles north of downtown near Anchor Bar. We wouldn't know of this place since there is no website online or anything. So a coworker brought in the menu and said the steak was amazing.

Right on their first page of the menu, it says free delivery, so it scored right away with us. They have hoagies, subs, salads, tacos, wings, fries, nachos, burgers, and more. They have a lot of choice on this menu. They have an awesome special that isn’t on the menu which is an 8" Hoagy (Steak, Chicken, or Sausage), Fries and a drink for $6.79 The menu almost mimics of Jim's Steakout, but with more reasonable prices. We talked to Nick, the co-owner, who runs things there and he told us over the phone they are also adding pizza to their menu in three weeks. This would make a difference than just feeling like another sub place in Buffalo.

A dozen of people ordered today through this place together. The delivery did come about five minutes late as we called them a few times. Names were written on all the orders also. They gave us packets of salt, pepper, malt vinegar, and ketchup, as well as straws. The specials came with drinks so four of them were placed in a big cup holder. The fries with the special came in a small wax paper bag. They ended up being real soggy this way. As opposed to ordering a separate large order of fries, those fries came in a brown box with plenty more. The 8" subs were also noticeably smaller compared to the 12". The 12" was cut in half and the 8" sub just looked like there could be more with it. It left most of us wanting more. They only had one kind of cheese which they called their sub cheese… and they added a special sauce to the hoagies. The subs tasted mostly like their special sauce, but people said there wasn't enough flavor otherwise. The wings were pretty traditional and cooked fine, but not enough sauce to them.

It wasn't an experience that was super as we would still go to Jim’s if we wanted similar types of subs. However, we would order from them again based on their extensive and affordable lunch menu.

Final Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Buffalo's Steak & Sub
1335 Main St
Buffalo, NY 14209
716-884-7777

Moe's Southwest Grill

2010-09-10T13:41:00.001-04:00

A Taco Bar is a fantastic and innovating lunch idea… if all pans out. This area is known for Mighty Taco... and then there's Taco Bell and Salsarita's... and Moe's. Similar to Salsarita's, Moe's popularity and word of mouth has increased over the past few years in the area. Moe's has a taco bar to cater and they do deliver downtown which is a plus. They are only about ten minutes away from their Kenmore location.

The taco bar is a make your own taco style of catering to our choosing which includes chips and salsa. This is the first time we ordered Mexican like this here. Mexican food is usually more expensive since it takes more preparation work. Moe’s is noted for being one of the more authentic Mexican places in Buffalo. They also have big individual tacos and they are noted for their particular item names, just like Marco's Deli. Moe’s has fajita, taco, nacho, and salad bars all for delivery and catering too. The Taco Bar grabbed us originally so we stuck with that.

They have two separate websites. First, Moe’s main one at moes.com. Second, if your city is lucky enough like we are at Buffalo, we have moesbuffalo.com with four exclusive places in the area. We found a few coupons on there and we used the one that had a free appetizer with a catering order of 15 people or more. For that, we got the guacamole. They do have a way to order online, but that function wasn't working here at the time. We strictly had a phone conversation with three phone calls. One placing the order, then finalizing, and then confirming.

The first call was on Wednesday asking a few questions. Thursday we finished up our order with what we wanted and the number of people in on it. We had 25 people, which made it one of the larger orders we've had. We had a huge positive response with the order. Even after the placing the order, no negative comments came back from 25 people. Some thoughts were floated around about the portions and if there would be enough food for the money of $10 a person.

We hoped everything arrived on time because it would be more time to figure out if everything did plus there is setup time too. However, with 25 people, it's also easier when it's catered instead of taking individual orders. We had one last request if we could have more soft shells than hard. Emily on the phone gave us the option of 75% soft which was exactly what we were thinking.

This was our order:
- Mix of soft flour tortillas and crispy corn shells
- Ground beef AND Grilled chicken
- Shredded Cheese
- Shredded Lettuce
- Tomatoes/Pico de Gallo
- Guacamole (free with our free appetizer coupon of 15 people or more)
- Sour Cream - 2 bowls
- Chips and Salsas
- Plates, napkins, serving utensils (included)
- No delivery charge

We ordered delivery for ten minutes ahead of our lunch schedule so we had time to get the food and setup. That was the plan…but it wasn't the case today. The delivery girl essentially was lost. She had left twenty minutes before noon and we had to call Moe's three times, including once to the driver, before she arrived here. Apparently, she was a few minutes north on Elmwood, but she didn't have the right address written down for her… as she said. Everything came in trays and bags to put on our cart including lots of serving spoons which was great.

Ten minutes within our thirty minute lunch time, we just got the food and still had to setup. The portions were a little off. We first noticed the low quantity on the ground beef and chicken and that the food was getting cold. Since we had so many separate ingredients to put on our tacos, the hard shelled tacos almost turned into just chips and salsa by the way we were eating it after. People were worried about the portions. However, many people had more than one helping and we ended up throwing extra ingredients out. While everyone was eating, they said they liked the food. We had tons of salsa and chips leftover that were eaten afterwards. The food was fresh especially the guacamole and hot sauce was indeed hot.

We still had a few people unhappy about the time factor since it made people rush and didn't take time to see what they would have wanted, but ten dollars to a Mexican lunch buffet at work is not bad. If it wasn’t late and the food was still warm, this would have been a hit with many. This hurt the fact that the cost was ten dollars per and some people didn’t think they got value from it. If it was here on time and warm, no one would mention the cost since they would have been fully satisfied. Aside from the price, portions, and lateness, many enjoyed it and the idea of the taco bar and bringing lots of us together for lunch.

Final Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Moe's Southwest Grill
www.moesbuffalo.com
2658 Delaware Avenue
Kenmore, NY 14207
716-447-9850

Marco's Fine Italian Dining

2010-08-27T13:09:00.000-04:00

Marco's has three locations, but Hertel Ave about fifteen minutes away is their closest location. Fortunately, do they deliver as well as have eat-in and take out. Delivery is always a big deal around here at work once someone finds a place that does so, especially once summer ends and if they are outside of the downtown district.

Marco’s did want a $15 minimum order, which would be like two sandwiches. They also guaranteed delivery by noon. Marco's also has a $5.00 delivery charge. The cost of each item ranges from $6.99 to $8.99. With tax, delivery, and tip and everything, it adds up to be one expensive sandwich without any sides or extras… say goodbye to a ten dollar bill on delivery. The expectations of the size, portion, quality, and even neatness are high. Ten people were in on the luncheon today and most ordered one of the “sangwiches” named with creative movie Italian nicknames. We called the afternoon before to place our order. They also have a fax.

The owner Nick gave us his personal recommendation, and Mama Mia was it, which is turkey, bacon, cheddar cheese, and chipotle mayo. All the sandwiches are freshly made. No fries on the menu means there is not a deep fryer probably for them to use. The single word 'fried' does not appear once on their menu. Soup of the day is on their menu except they didn't have soup today. They also don't offer half subs/sandwiches.

We had plenty of mixed results with our food. The delivery came on time, the names were on the orders, and they had no mistakes. All three things we look for with delivery. The sandwiches weren't quite sandwiches though... they were more like submarines. They had a sub appearance and style measuring about eight inches long. One person ordered a salad which was okay and had a lot in it. The sandwiches also had a lot in them, but it wasn't at first site. We heard on some of the sandwiches the meat was tough and fatty and that they had to pull it out. Some were soggy also. The roast beef in the sub was so thick that at first bite it was almost like steak.

Everyone finished their "subs" and thought they were "good” in the end. The food definitely had plenty of flavors and each one had a unique sauce like a garlic mayo which added a great taste. At ten dollars, it may be worth to some.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Marco's Fine Italian Dining
www.marcosbuffalo.com
1744 Hertel Ave
Buffalo, NY 14216
(716) 862-9117

DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines

2010-07-23T12:55:00.000-04:00

Delivery from over twenty minutes away seems out of the question... especially for a place that doesn't even deliver in the first place. This would be the furthest we have ever got delivery from. DiBella's doesn't have a location in or near downtown Buffalo, but our Rochester friend insisted they are a must try. Interesting enough, they have three locations in the suburbs of Buffalo and most of us Buffalo people have never had food from there before despite hearing about them.

Our Rochester friend convinced Dave the manager and Brian the assistant manager from the Tonawanda location on Niagara Falls Blvd. to deliver, but we needed to meet a $50 minimum order. There weren't any prices on their website so we had to ask also. We originally were going to order from here Monday, but the order would have been called forty minutes before our lunch time and we didn't meet the $50 minimum then.

Today, we had 11 people ordering which would put us well above the $50 minimum. Orders ranged from a Godfather, which was Genoa Salami, Capicola, and Spicy Ham, to roast beef and corned beef. We could say exactly what we wanted on it to the kind of cheese, peppers, oil, etc. A large cold sub was $8.19 and a medium was $6.19. No one got one of Grandma DiBella's Old Fashioned Large Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies for a $1.25, but one of us did get the small box of two dozen mini chocolate chip cookies for $5.89. We were going to fax our order in, but they didn't have a fax machine so we called a day ahead to place our order.

The delivery arrived about five minutes earlier than expected so their timing was fine by not being late with the longer than usual delivery distance. This was the first time two guys came to deliver... one was the manager and the other was for directions. All the subs came in one big box and the manager presented us with a 10% coupon on sub party platters. Gladly enough, each sub had a name on it instead of what it was so it was easy to pass around. This was a solid start before we began eating into the food.

We felt the weight of one sub in our hands and it was heavier than the average foot-long sub. It is only a bit longer than the twelve inch standard. The order came with some napkins and forks and over a dozen menus. Some of us worried if the hot subs would be cold by the time it was delivered. The hot subs were in red paper and they were still warm. The seven inch Red Osier Hot Roast Beef at $5.59 was smaller than expected, but still fine and warm. The cold subs had a similar appeal and taste to Wegmans. The bread is so nice that Wegmans paid big bucks to use their recipe. The meat was stacked high like Wegmans, however, one side of the bread was cut instead of both. The cheese had a great taste and the peppers had a kick to them. The cookies were freshly baked and much better than Chips Ahoy. Their large subs are all you really need to be full for hours.

The enormously high expectations built up from our Rochester friend were met. For not coming here late, writing the names on the orders, or messing anything up in the process of a big order to go out for a long delivery, they did really well. In comparison to other sub places, this ranks above most in Buffalo. Jim's Steakout, DiBella's, and Wegmans could be one, two, and three and they are each unique. We would do the sub platter next since it is cheaper than our current go-to sub platters from Prima.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

DiBella's Old Fashioned Submarines
www.dibellas.com
1420 Niagara Falls Boulevard
Tonawanda, NY 14150-8431
(716) 332-2418

TGI Friday's

2010-07-16T12:59:00.003-04:00

TGI Friday's is one of the most over-visited chain restaurants in America. This place on Main St. by Chippewa and Washington seems to be one of the few food attractions that are busy in its area, especially in the evening. It does marketing extremely well with their television advertisements and promotions. Imagine over a dozen us from work heading to Fridays together and ordering lunch right there. We wouldn’t have time… so we managed to get delivery from them.

The menu contains a lot of similar things and it's very narrow. Their prices are actually expensive for lunch and dinner portions as well as desserts. You might as well just go to a local restaurant instead with real cooks and people who want to work there. Since we are the Buffalo Lunch Time guys, we shouldn't be going to places like Fridays, Chilis, Applebee's, and so on since there are a ton of local places that are out there... at least in Buffalo and the suburbs there are. Fridays does provide a family-friendly atmosphere along with a nice bar that has overpriced drinks. However, we managed to order for delivery for our first time ever from TGI Fridays on this Friday. We pulled off getting the manager from TGI Fridays to make the delivery if we had enough people. This would be their first delivery.

We only had the menu online to look it and it was very confusing. The items were duplicated all over the menu and they stressed Jack Daniels sauce all over it. The prices were not listed and some of the items didn't list if it came with a side or not. Their sections are broken down vertically so you would have to tilt your head to read the section. Since the menu online was messy, we called and requested a menu faxed to us with the prices. The person on the phone did so by writing the prices on a paper menu, which was easier to read, and it was faxed within a few minutes. This was the fastest fax we’ve ever had. Usually when we request a menu to be faxed, it rarely comes in. We were impressed most by this place since the person did it so fast and wrote the prices on it. We ended up faxing our orders with our names on each order to them about two hours ahead of our lunch time and called to confirm it. There were sixteen people who ordered today and the most popular item ordered, as predicted, was the Jack Daniel's Chicken Sandwich which did come with fries.

Some of us do have a problem though with the pricing. The average cost of a sandwich and even a salad was 10 to 11 dollars total. If we found a menu for a local place no one has heard and saw it cost that much for a sandwich, people would be turned away and call it an outrage. We would know since it has happened several times before... but since this is Fridays and people are familiar with the name and marketing of it, it is okay to spend that much on lunch. The problem is not many people take the risk and spend $10 on lunch from a place they know nothing about.

Our food arrived ten minutes earlier... that is, if we gave them the right address. Our Rochester friend gave him his old working address, but thankfully they came before noon. The daytime manager Mike delivered in his car and he said this was his first delivery order. He was hesitant at first over the phone to do it, but it now sounds like he would do it again especially with the right address. All the orders were in one big box. None of them had names on them though. Instead, the orders were written on them. Plates, napkins, ketchups, and so on were provided. For everyone who ordered Jack Daniels something, the sauce was on the side and everyone seemed to have liked that better than if the sauce was already on it. The sandwiches were juicy and big with some flavor. We were all impressed by the food even if it was from a chain. The food didn't go wrong. It’s also what you can expect from a chain in quality and size.

TGI Friday's is expensive place for lunch and people are still willing to pay because the food is not that bad. There are other choices out there and this isn't something we would go to often for our lunch. However, since we got a large turnout and everything pretty much came as ordered and enjoyed by many people, we might change our minds on that especially when we don't want pizza.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5

TGI Friday's
www.tgifridays.com
601 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14203-1488
(716) 854-6000

La Nova Pizzeria

2010-07-13T12:54:00.001-04:00

Today for some us was our one year anniversary at work. We came in the same time exactly a year ago and to celebrate, we decided to have our own pizza party luncheon. After going against from going out, we decided for pizza yesterday, but we didn’t know where yet.

We haven’t reviewed La Nova because our Rochester friend was not impressed by the La Nova pizza at the Valero gas station on Elmwood. This pizzeria does have the strongest reputation in Buffalo for years now as the best pizza in town. They are also notoriously famous for their mafia ways too, but that’s old news. Their prices are a bit higher than the average, but it is always worth it. Of course, they are not within walking distance to downtown from their West Ferry original location we ordered from. Their other location is consistently great for the suburbs on Main Street in Williamsville. They’ve been number one on best pizzas lists in Buffalo for years and they earned the prize as best independent pizzeria in the United States… it even still says so on their plates. They are so famous now that their wings are starting to get more attention than Duff’s due to Duff’s never showing up at wing fest and no marketing. La Nova ships out their food via airplane anywhere in the country. Marketing outside of Buffalo has helped this place grow.

We called an hour ahead of time and it would take 45 minutes to get here. We could tell the person was talking softly over the phone and abruptly said bye after we asked for plates and napkins. It sounded like she didn’t want to be there today. As a result, the plates did not arrive, but the delivery guy came on time. Luckily, we still had La Nova plates and napkins leftover from a previous visit months ago. You can imagine their suburban place is more friendlier than the North Buffalo one. Our order was a sheet pepperoni pizza and 20 medium wings for five people… hopefully that wouldn’t be too much food for everyone... and it really wasn’t after all. We originally came in on this date a year ago as 9 people. 1 left the day of, 1 recently left, 1 didn’t have cash today, and 1 decided to go to the dark side today by ordering a happy meal from McDonald’s.

There never have been more complements to a pizza during a lunch period than today. We went as far as calling this pizza beautiful while seeing it in the pizza box. There were only a few slices left after our lunch period. The pizza was juicy, moist, and soft. There were no burnt brown or black areas on the crust. It was easy going down... it was just amazing and delicious. We wish we could eat this pizza more often. A couple of the people who got McDonald's today realized how small their food was and wanted some of this pizza... they each got a slice and wanted more. Their wings also scored well. Usually wings from pizza places are just alike and nothing too superb as opposed to getting them at bar. These wings, however, are above the scale on wings from a pizzeria. They are better than the average wing.

By default, this should be the pizza to welcome any outside visitors to Buffalo. It is what Buffalo pizza is all about… from the overall flavor, to the rise of the dough, to the size of the crust, to the essence of the sauce, and to the appearance and taste of the pepperoni and cheese... the blend of all of that was phenomenal. This is Buffalo pizza at its finest.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

La Nova Pizzeria
www.lanova.com
371 West Ferry Street
Buffalo, NY 14213-1947
(716) 881-3355

Dragon Express

2010-07-09T14:12:00.000-04:00

Today's order was for nine people and this was our first experience with them. They deliver and they are located behind the Hyatt which is just slightly over the average walking distance. There is no competition out there along that section of Main and Huron when it comes to Asian food. There should be a sushi place on Main St. there, but there isn't.

Most of us got the lunch specials. They are about $5 total. Chinese meals are usually the most affordable lunches to order from. The order was called in a couple hours ahead of time and the orders ranged from Sesame Chicken to dumplings to a pint of shrimp lo mien.

The delivery came five to ten minutes earlier than the said arrival time... better to come that early than one minute late. Everything was in one big box. Inside the box there were plenty of forks, napkins, side sauces, and fortune cookies. However, there were no names written on the orders or any menu numbers so we had to look at the food from the clear lids to determine whose is whose. The names on the orders were requested and the guy on the phone even wrote down the names on the check. Each one came with pork fried rice no matter what. One of us ordered white rice instead, but got the pork fried rice in the lunch meal container as the white rice was on the side in a half pint.

The food was warm and delicious. No one complained. The lunch specials looked like every other Chinese place's lunch special we've had that came in one of those reusable containers. The most popular order was General Tsos chicken, which was great. The hot & spicy chicken appeared with a pink sauce and it attended to be hot, but it wasn't really. There also wasn't enough chicken in it, but it was still a nice lunch meal. There was a lot of food in each lunch meal for the price spent.

We would definitely order from this place again. The prices are right and delivery wasn't late, but it's just like the rest of the Chinese places around. The Chinese food here might be a slight better than the rest though, but it doesn't offer sushi or Japanese dishes like some places do which would offer a bigger variety and crowd.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Dragon Express
www.allmenus.com/ny/buffalo/245730-new-dragon-express/menu
525 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14203-1712
(716) 842-0909

The Avant Espresso Bar

2010-07-07T13:08:00.000-04:00

This was the first place we tried out last summer and it was one of our favorites. It was well within walking distance, peaceful, and reasonable. This is the small cafe inside the Embassy Suites hotel. We always went there about once a week last summer and it was a nice escape from work in a new, calm environment. Some of us at work also thought it was the best place around, but that was before we started discovering other places nearby.

The problem is the food was never that exciting to go back and the selection was way too scarce, since it is a hotel. The coffees they have take a while to make as it’s Starbucks® coffee coming in the Starbucks cups. They serve pre-made wraps, salads, and pastries, though the pastries are usually too expensive for too little to try out. You really can't go with a group of people too. They have a slow service sometimes based on one person there and they have no reason to be that slow. Salsarita's serves dozens of people every few minutes. If a dozen people showed up at Embassy’s cafe, expect to wait about twenty minutes before you sit down with your food. However, a dozen of people will never be at this place.

The entrance is through the front glass doors on West Huron, not on Delaware which is where Della Terra is. When you walk right in from West Huron, it's straight ahead. The service is open from 7am to 6pm each day. They have different premade foods each day. If you're expecting one of your favorites to be there that you had last week, it might not be there the next time. They have a very limited selection. Their soups were a hit. They are best around and they’re always extremely hot. The soft drinks are expensive and it'll cost almost two bucks.

On today's visit, there was no one around. The pastries weren't there. Instead, just the premade selections were there and this time, they were labeled and labeled really well. The a/c can be felt, some soothing musical tunes can be heard, and a nice hotel waterfall inside can be seen. There's an elegant bar and of course no one is ever around that at noon. There's also a feeling this hotel is mainly for business meetings than visitors booking a room. It’s a great, relaxing atmosphere and the tall glass windows give a great view. They only had about three lunch meals to pick from today. One of us got the spicy chicken wrap and other got some shrimp croissant sandwich. Each one came with a small pasta salad inside. The containers were so hard to open so that shows they try to keep them fresh. Each meal was priced at $6.53 total. These are healthy, cool, and light selections which can appeal for a warm summer appetite. What some might consider mostly bland food, the taste was just fine and doesn’t need oil or grease on it.

One of the main reasons to go there is for the sitting environment and atmosphere. Also on the plus side, the food won't make you fall asleep in the afternoon. This is where to go for something healthy, light, and easy. It’s an alternate choice from fried foods especially since there are hardly any healthy places around. It might not fill you up, but that isn't a bad thing.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Avant Espresso Bar
embassysuites1.hilton.com
200 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 842-1000

Gino & Joe's Pizzeria

2010-07-02T13:38:00.001-04:00

This pizzeria is famous for being stuck inside an infamous mall of the Mainplace Mall. It must hurt business being around a disintegrating retail place since there’s nothing inside worth shopping. This pizza hardly counts for someone just to go inside it for this pizza… the Italian specialties and pasta specials are one thing, as we ended up getting delivery.

There was a $30 minimum for delivery and they only deliver downtown. Their own website doesn’t work which is always a problem here when we want more information but luckily we had paper menus. The prices are relativity affordable and lots of us ordered calzones. About 15 people were in on this order. Originally one of us ordered wings, but changed it after the call once they told us they only carry boneless wings. This has got to be the only pizza place we tried that is like this. Also, the only drinks they carry are iced teas, but not a big problem.

Aside from the pizza, all the food arrived in one big box. Not only was the box huge, but so was the pizza box. The size was larger than we thought. We ordered a medium which was 16", but for only $12, this was a deal. It was like a large pizza. All the names were on the orders so they were easy to pass around and separate. There was even a smile face on one person's order. They gave us plastic knifes and forks, but they missed out on the napkins which hurt.

The best part of the meal was in fact the calzones and strombolis. They were enjoyed by all. The calzones all had a few bread holes on the top so you can see what you’re eating inside. The meat was great and the sausage exceeded our expectations. The dipping tomato sauce was liked also. The bottom of some of ours was somewhat burnt and the cheese was thick though.

The pizza was something one could expect to be served at a mall. It wasn't anywhere near great; it was just a typical thin New York style without anything special. It's got a look that won't appeal to most Buffalo pizza fans. It also was becoming cold too fast. It was just a pepperoni pizza though... the slices were big but had a lot of grease. We also didn't eat the crust on some of the slices as it was just too much for some.

They gave us a lot of food. Most of us couldn't finish what we ordered during our lunch time, which was unusual. The Italian foods and calzones were better than their pizza.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Gino & Joe's Pizzeria
www.gino&joes.com
400 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-3702
(716) 856-4340

Hyatt's Grill

2010-07-01T13:05:00.001-04:00

The first trip here was on a Monday and the grill wasn't there. There were a few people there that asked where did the grill go which was out there last Friday... much later we found out the grill is only there from Wednesdays to Fridays. There wasn't even a sign out there that said anything so it didn't look promising to go back and see if it is out there again.

Today being Thursday, we walked there which took more than the average walk to lunch. The grill was out there by the hotel almost underneath some shade from the building and there was a sign on the ground saying Hyatt... the special was five dollars for a grilled sandwich, bag of chips, and pop. The choices were grilled Angus burgers, pulled pork, chicken breast, and Italian sausage. No hot dogs though which was smart because there's a hot dog vendor on the opposite corner. Also, it showed this is the only outdoor vendor in the area that will grill pulled pork so that's what we got.

We revised our order... instead of getting the $5 special we each got a pop, bag of pretzels, pulled pork, and an Angus burger for $8 each. The 6 oz. burgers were frozen before the guy put them on the grill so it took a while. That meant we ended up finishing our pulled pork sandwiches before getting our burgers. The condiments were pretty poor for coming from a hotel. They were just the normal packets of mustards and ketchups. There were two people working it... one for the cash and one grilling and they were quite unorganized. The cashier was struggling at giving change in a timely manner and the cook had bad timing on the grill. We over-waited for the burgers and they ended up being overcooked and burnt and almost not edible, but we still ate them.

The sandwiches each were put on a nice little plastic basket. The pulled pork sandwiches had a lot of meat in the them, but it was a bit salty. It seems like they mixed yesterday's meat with today's meat. The music was playing from the hotel outside and there were about ten tables with umbrellas. The smoke from the grill quite frequently blew in our faces while eating as we sat down. The view here was excellent. Main Street from the area we were at was nice, but it wasn't so nice. There are many vacant places along the street that had something and now have nothing in them and should because there were tons of people walking by. This means the hotel knew they were going to make business by putting a grill out there as the only real food attraction which is a disappointment.

By the Hyatt grill, it is a very enjoyable time. Being almost 5 minutes away walking distance means you are ways away from work so you feel more comfortable and not coming from work but at the same time, a slight rush to get back on time. We do recommend the pulled pork, however when we got back we still had the salt taste in our mouths leftover.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Hyatt's Grill
Corner of Main St. and Huron on Main St. behind the Hyatt hotel

Avenue Pizza & Submarine

2010-06-22T13:09:00.001-04:00

We’ve had this menu buried away for quite some time now and had no real desire of pulling it out to order. They have no real website online and all we found were nasty comments about the late delivery, unappealing dining area, swearing in the kitchen, and so on. There were also rumors of bad business overall with tax problems and being under new management and we wondered if this place was even open anymore. However, some of us at work are more audacious than others who just visit Sue’s, SPoT, Jim’s, etc, so we took the risk of ordering for delivery.

First, the menu is way too huge to go in to. There’s unsorted specials all over it and two pages worth of subs. They are open at 10am and close on 3am and weekends of 5am, which is late. We ordered delivery a few minutes before noon just in case the comments were true about bad service. We just got a cheeseburger sub, chicken finger sub, liter of Sprite, and a personal pizza with bacon, which totaled high to over $26.

Conversely, the service wasn’t bad, but the food was plain mediocre. The order was here before noon and it came with everything we asked for. For a three dollar delivery fee, we better hope so. The phone conversation was fine. All the food was in one big bag and the personal pizza was in a small box in there. After we took out the food, someone asked us, “Where is the rest of the food?” For the price we paid for, it didn’t look like a lot. However, we did a side by side comparison of Jim’s Bleu sub and what originally looked small turned about to be almost the same size of chicken finger sub as Jim’s but maybe with thicker chicken fingers. The pizza was just average… maybe just because it was a personal pizza, but it is not worth going into. The bacon on the pizza was no where delicious as the previous places we tried from.

All the food was just borderline average, if that. Nothing was great. Aside from their poor reputation, it is an expensive place and we probably wouldn't order from them again due to stronger competitors out there.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Avenue Pizza & Submarine
502 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222-2014
(716) 883-3500

Buffalo's Best Dogs - Street Vendor

2010-06-21T12:50:00.001-04:00

Originally today's lunch was meant to visit a grill that was outside of the Hyatt Hotel on Friday, but it was no longer there today. Luckily, there was a hot dog vendor on the corner of Main St. and Huron St. This is the second known hot dog vendor around that's a few minutes down the hot dog vendor on Huron. These small places are harder to find since there's nothing about them online. The only way you could find them is if you walk in different areas you don't normally go for lunch. This one can be spotted with Wardynski's umbrellas with a more closed off vendor station. It was a few extra minutes down from the hot dog vendor on Delaware and Huron.

This vendor, however, offered less on the menu. The vendor has hot dogs, Italian sausage, polish kielbasa, jumbo beef dog, pop, and chips. Notice something is left out and they are any hamburgers. This is a big loss. They also don't have any specialties, like a cheese or chili dog, as the other hot dog vendor does. A normal hot dog is just $1.75 which is the same as the other vendor down the street. Also, the Delaware hot dog guy is no longer a guy. As of now, it's been a young brunette girl for a few weeks. Well, at this hot dog vendor on Main St., there is a young blonde girl working.

The hot dogs here were cooked faster as many were on the grill at the same time. However, it wasn't thoroughly cooked as one could expect. The condiments are roughly similar. They do have hot sauce but it didn't even feel like there was hot sauce on the dogs. This vendor does have straws if you want to drink easier while walking with something else in another hand. However, wax paper was used to put the hot dogs on instead of one of those hot dog plates which was a big disadvantage.

It is very affordable and a quick eat. Only $4 was spent on the special of two dogs and a pop. This was the popular order of the day and this was is way below the average spending with these lunches. It's a nicer atmosphere with Main St. there and there are six benches and a convenient garbage can next to the vendor which is a big plus. There's more people walking by and it doesn't feel as lonely as the one on Delaware. The other hot dog vendor wins out at the moment though.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Buffalo's Best Dogs - Street Vendor
Corner of Huron St. and Main St.
by M&T and Bank of America

Cabaret

2010-06-18T13:48:00.000-04:00

We called the day ahead to pre-order for about 10 people. They weren’t sure if they were going to have a delivery person that day for us. So we ended up e-mailing our order to them and typed up the whole thing that day after we got off the phone. She called and confirmed the order and delivery soon after and said a delivery person would be available.

The last and only time we ordered from them was on April 16 to a fully favorable response. Many said it was the best yet at the time. It was also requested as a monthly reoccurrence lunch spot for delivery.

They have quite the nice website and menu. It also states, ‘Free delivery on orders over $75.’ We ended up having the subtotal to be just above that amount without tax and we got free delivery. The menu has a lot of celebrity names listed as the sandwich. Someone had the Michael York last time and the Liza Minnelli this time and was not disappointed. The serving size was more than generous. The taste was out of this world with real fresh meat, according to one of our 10 people who ordered it.

Today, our orders were delivered in the biggest single box yet. It was brought in by the most attractive delivery girl yet. One of us even walked by her when she came in the building and stood outside waiting for the delivery person to arrive as there was a disbelief that a delivery person could be that hot. However, the delivery person was hotter than the food. Each order was labeled with what the actual order was, but not by name. It came with ketchup and mustard packets as we like. However, one of us got the Blue Cheese burger and wanted mayo on it. When that person finished eating without the mayo on it, that person realized there was a small side cup of mayo underneath the wax paper. Also, for the first time, there was a small cup of jalapenos instead of being put on the sandwich. If you're not used to the sweet potato fries, don't get them. It’s either you’re a big fan of them or just don’t care for them. They were unsalted and not the same taste as regular because they were sweeter.

The only real complaint was that most of the food was at room temperature and not hot like King's Court was. Of course there's a difference between delivery and pickup though, but even for the food that was supposed to be hot in flavor wasn't. Still, we would welcome back Cabaret for our lunch needs in the future.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Cabaret
www.cabaretrestaurant.com
484 Pearl Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-1904
(716) 842-4181

King's Court Restaurant

2010-06-17T13:23:00.000-04:00

We’ve had many problems with them before. Our first experience with them was in October last year. We reserved the room upstairs for an hour and a half lunch when we were all granted an extra hour of admin leave that day. About twenty people came that day and some sat downstairs for lunch. We thought sitting down for that length of time and ordering there would be plenty of time for lunch. Well, we were wrong and we were actually rushed near the end.

This wasn’t a problem for everyone… just for the people who had meals still cooking while other people were eating. However, one of us was let inside the kitchen afterwards to personally thank the chef and found out it was just two people who cooked for all of us. Sam, the owner/chef, and one other cook made a meal for like 20 people in the reserved room in addition to the other people in the small dining room downstairs. Most of the people did like the food too.

On another occasion, though during night, there was a gratuity problem with a gift certificate, but that's a whole other story. Their website is also terrible. The pictures on there get the red x so we couldn’t display the menu in picture format. It’s been like that for a while now. Anything designed by buffalobarfly usually is though with the same template and boring format. They are open early from 8 and close at 11 and have off on Sundays.

Today, we were smart and pre-ordered ahead of time. We called today and this was our first trip back in over a half year. We got a quesidilla with no onions and sour cream on the side, a double order of hot chicken wings with extra bleu cheese, and an order of fresh cut French fries. We got the order to go just in case if they were late or slow.

To our surprise, we came in and said we ordered ahead and that order was sitting and waiting for us at the bar all ready to go. It also had napkins and forks in bags inside along with packets of salt, pepper, and ketchup. When we got back with our order after deciding not to eat outside on the patio, everything was still very warm. The walking distance is similar to the hot dog guy on Huron and Delaware, so it's quick. The fries were very hot, a little soggy though, but still impressed by how everything was hot still.

These were probably the biggest wings we've had for lunch time here. They had so much meat on them and it was easy to bite off. The blue cheese request was honored so there were two. They were mostly liquid, but still very tasty. The combined flavors between the wings and blue cheese gave it a unique taste similar to between a Chicken Finger order and just wings. The Quesidilla didn't have chicken, though they offered it for extra, a chicken wing came through and helped out there.

They actually had some great timing today unlike in the past. Maybe it had something to do with us pre-ordering ahead or less orders the better for less confusion. Still, this showed us we would come back again and it raised the rating from what would have been even lower.

Final Rating: 3.0 out of 5

King's Court Restaurant
www.kingscourtrestaurant.com
189 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202-2115
(716) 856-9262

Mister Pizza Elmwood

2010-06-16T13:35:00.001-04:00

It was finally time to try out different food from this place. Today, we were in the mood for a bacon cheeseburger sub and pulled out our menus and found their menu that happened to have it. Their menu is actually quite extensive with a few surprises that will make you want to order other food that isn't pizza. The prices are in the middle to high range, but their specialty pizzas are among the best in the area. They have plenty of diverse pizza party packs and they have a great and clear website.

First a trip down memory lane with our previous two experiences…

April 29 was actually our first time we ordered something from them for lunch at work. A bit late, yes, to order from this fine pizzeria. We ended up getting the Mister Cheeseburger Pizza. Two of us agreed it was the best specialty pizza we have ever ate in Buffalo. Grade A ground beef, bacon, and onions along with American, Swiss, and cheddar cheese and their own special sauce was literally the best cheeseburger pizza we have had. The order was placed at quarter before 11am to be delivered at NLT noon. The individual taking the order was polite and assured the delivery would go off without a hitch. He didn't lie because at 11:55am the piping hot pizza was delivered. The aroma that escaped the box upon opening was truly captivating. Aside from the smell, by the looks it was easy to notice that it was thoroughly cooked and it wasn't overcooked either. After having this pizza, Mister Pizza on Elmwood had us as a repeat customer.

On May 7, we ordered pizza from Mister Pizza again for a pizza party. However, two supervisors ordered pizza from this place for two separate parties that day. We both had the misfortune at the hands of apparently incompetent delivery driver and/or staff members from Mister Pizza. The other team’s supervisor ordered: 1 Sheet Pepperoni, 1 Sheet Sausage, and 1 Sheet Mushroom. They received: 1 Sheet Cheese, 2 Sheets Pepperoni.

We ordered: A Sheet Pepperoni Pizza, Large Mister Hawaiian, Large Hot Chicken Finger Pizza, 100 wings (50 medium, 20 Cajun, 20 Honey BBQ ,10 suicidal) Our team was shorted an entire sheet pepperoni pizza from that list, which was obviously a big goof that needed to be rectified. Later that day, we were in contact with the manager to discuss apparent necessary options that went no where with no contact if we remember well.

The chicken finger pizza was the first pizza everyone started eating from and it went quick. The Mister Hawaiian, however, had plenty of leftovers. Cherries, pineapple, almonds, and ham was on it didn’t appeal to most of it. The Cajun wings were hot with its dry heat, however the suicidal wings left us in disappointment. We wondered if they mistaken the suicidal sauce with just putting plain medium or something on them.

Today, four people were in on the order. The order came as exact separated in pizza and wing boxes, though the guy was maybe a couple minutes later but not a big deal. They also delivered their suicidal sauce on the side. Remembering we already had the suicidal sauce on the wings in the past while trying it out, it was hotter on the side with the sub and fries than it was before on the wings. This was probably the best ratio of very hot sauce and flavor from a pizza place that we’ve reviewed. The deluxe loaded fries were a hit. Someone who didn’t order with us kept going back for more fries to dip in the hot sauce. These were waffles fries loaded with cheddar, salsa, and taco meat that came with a side of sour cream. The fries had a lot of toppings on it where it was almost hard to find them in the round tinfoil bowl. The tacos and chicken fingers were fine, though the plain side of fries could have used some ketchup. Luckily, the suicidal sauce helped out. The bacon cheeseburger subs had a thick layer of bacon on bottom with the burger on top. We thought it was all tasty that would fill you up. It may have been frozen patty by the way it was compacted and cut, but it was still appetizing.

This place calls itself Mister Pizza but really it has way more to offer in quality than the Pizza. This is an underrated place if you’re looking for subs or something else for lunch. For a pizzeria, they have such an amazing and appealing selection.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Mister Pizza Elmwood
www.misterpizzaelmwood.com
1065 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222-1225
(716) 882-6500

Just Pizza

2010-06-15T14:01:00.000-04:00

We haven’t ordered from this place in a long time for multiple reasons. This place used to be the place to order pizza from late last year before we started trying out new places and finding out they’re around here. The typical response we would get is, "Oh, it's Just Pizza again." We stayed away from it then because we were so used to it and there were more places to try out.

Upon placing the order over the phone, they asked for a first and last name along with a phone number. They didn’t know where we were located and wanted to know what streets we were between. They then asked if it was for downstairs or upstairs. This was all weird since we’ve placed many orders from there in the past, but under a different number. We wanted noon for delivery and the guy asked right away if 12:15 was ok. What you’re thinking about now is how we felt. It ended up being way too long for a phone order. This was in purpose of setting up a phone number in their system, even though they spelled the first and last name completely wrong on the receipt.

They came five minutes before noon which was earlier than expected. The delivery guy had everything we asked for including the number of blue cheeses, the plates, and napkins. We got a large pizza cut in 12 slices topped with pepperoni, mushroom, and bacon. The total was price near $25, which is an extremely high price for this order of a large.

Never before were we so full from a large pizza. Two men couldn’t finish this pizza. There were still two and a half slices left after our thirty minute lunch break. When we opened it up, we first noticed it was loaded with toppings, but without piling them on too high. These toppings certainly made this pizza special. It was better than the expected cardboard appeal, better than in the past, and better with toppings. The bacon on the pizza was only the second time for one of us and it was delicious on this pizza. Each topping was $2 and they surely put enough on for that price. Their blue cheese was also great as they’re manufactured just to them.

A lot of people in Buffalo are already familiar with this place by having many locations like a Jim’s Steakout. The pizza can still be easily identified by the eye to the average buffalo pizza consumer. We know what their wings are like and they are very average Buffalo style you would normally get from a pizza place here. They also have an advantage with their hours. They are open every day early at 9 to at most places midnight. After having this pizza today, Just Pizza will be climbing up the rankings for best pizza in Buffalo. All it takes is one pizza to do that.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Just Pizza
www.justpizzausa.com
300 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14222
716-883-5650

Five Guys Burgers and Fries: Exclusive Review

2010-06-15T10:51:00.000-04:00

I had the privilege of spotting out a Five Guys to my surprise in Hoboken, New Jersey on Saturday. This is the first review outside of Buffalo and I’m writing this up because Five Guys might come soon to Buffalo for our lunch consumers. I wasn’t expecting to see one when I was in New Jersey and I didn’t even look it up to see if there would be any in the area. It was a lunch meal, but this was during the mid-afternoon.

Thanks to our Rochester friend at work, I was walking on the opposite side of the street and I saw this place and remembered he was always talking about how Buffalo doesn't have one and how Rochester does. I contacted him right away by cell phone and he told me to eat there! How could I pass up this opportunity even on a full stomach?

On the way back down the street, I stopped into Five Guys for the first time ever and went straight to the counter. This place almost looked like a normal fast food hamburger joint, but it wasn’t. It smelled great and looked clean when we walked in. I asked if there were any lunch specials, deals, or combos and unfortunately there weren’t any. The menu is actually very basic and doesn't offer milkshakes. I ordered the Cheeseburger which was $5.99. For that price, I could tell right away this wasn’t going to be your average burger. They asked what I wanted on it and I am glad they did. On their menu above, there were options to pick from. I picked out jalapenos, lettuce, mayo, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and their hot sauce. We also got a French fry which was $2.99. We ended up waiting a while, more so than a fast food place, but boy was it amazing.

They put the food in a bag and the fries were everywhere. The fries were placed in a tall drinking cup and scattered around in the bag. They were thick and long but not as thick as steak fries. They weren't too hot so you aren’t eating with your mouth open to get some air. All the food was warm at the right temperature. At some places, the fries are dry and need condiments. These fries, however, were different. They were better than all the fast food restaurant places and even some regular restaurants. Not only were the French fries on top of their game, but this Cheeseburger was fantastic. It had two patties and it was about two or three times the size as a Big Mac. There were so many flavors going inside my mouth and words of excitement flowing out after each bite. Nothing spilled outside my burger and it was perfectly layered without overdoing it. It was so incredibly juicy and moist without having that greasy taste. The hot sauce indeed had flavor and appropriate hot levels that were very satisfying as well as everything else was.

Our Rochester friend was right. It would be worth leaving work early to drive to and come back with the food for lunch. It is that great of a lunch meal and you won’t feel sick to your stomach afterwards like what some fast food places can do to you. The only knocks on this place are maybe the cost and no specials so you have to buy your drinks and other items separately. Hopefully, the rumors are true and Five Guys will be opening places around Buffalo this year. It was probably the best burger and fries meal I’ve had this entire year and it made our vacation slightly better.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Five Guys Hoboken
www.fiveguys.com
319 Washington Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 683-3273

Manhattan Pizza

2010-06-10T13:51:00.000-04:00

One of us had our first trip and experience to this pizzeria ever. For being so close on the popular Chippewa and Delaware corner, it may go unnoticed because it isn't on Chippewa. In fact, it's only a 10 second walk maybe from the corner. There's nothing really across the street from it other than a Starbucks and there’s nothing else down the block on Delaware that would compete. They also don't have a website so it's harder to find out about them aside from just walking by it.

This place does have an advantage. Its advantage is the eating area. It could probably sit 50 to 100 people easily. They have three seating places: one near the pizza counter inside, one that's separate inside with a bunch of tables in there as their main dining area, and one outside on a sidewalk patio with umbrellas. The patio is key for the summer time. This is the only pizza place around that has a patio with tables and it is very relaxing. For a pizzeria, this atmosphere ranks high. Many people were coming in and out quickly with food and enjoying it but it is never too busy to get your food here and have a spot to eat which is great.

At this place, we of course got the pizza and nothing but pizza. That's how you start at a pizzeria. As we walked in, we smelled some great food so that was a pleasing sign. We went by slice also and got a couple specialty pizzas which weren't bad. By the slice, it's $2.75, but you can get a couple slices and drink for about $6. They had a few pizza lunch specials on the chalkboard and one of them was 2 slices of pizza and a drink. Well, one of us just ordered two slices of pizza and then the woman at the cashier asked if we would like a drink right after. They are that quick here at reading orders and applying it to their specials. We each got a special and the service there is very much aware of what's going on. They were sharp for a New York style pizzeria, unlike what you might get at Zetti's. Although the slices are longer with big toppings at Zetti's, the appeal of this pizza is comparable to what you would get at Manhattan style pizzeria. They were long slices with the right amount of toppings still with a nice taste and not heavy with the sauce. From the counter, they put the pizza in the oven for a couple minutes to warm up. This made the pizza crispy on the bottom opposed to getting it freshly ordered though.

We regret we didn't bring back a menu, but they do offer a lot more than pizza. We can assume their large pizzas are bigger than the standard in Buffalo and they had available salads and wraps to go. Like we said, it's an easy place to get access to and they're helpful with your order.

If you're in the mood for New York style pizza downtown, this is the place. There really isn't anywhere else downtown. This is within walking distance and this would be the place to go to over the summer for pizza to eat there. The pizza is about a 3.5 basically because we got it off the counter, but due to the atmosphere, location, and everything else, it slightly receives higher. Delivery in the future might happen as well.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Manhattan Pizza
244 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202-2009
(716) 842-1986

Tokyo Shanghai Bistro

2010-06-09T15:20:00.000-04:00

We've ordered from this place multiple times in the past as well as others here at work so they are consistent for the most part. We were going to order sushi here for our first time but someone ordered ahead of our scheduled day and said the sushi was frozen and cold. This turned off way too many co-workers from ordering here that scheduled day as well as in the future for some odd and strange reason. About a week later, some of us separately tried out the sushi and it was just fine. Though, two different people ordered the same type of California rolls, they put the order together in the same tray and we later found out about this after we began eating and couldn't find the other tray.

This is the closest place for sushi downtown and it is not within walking distance. We all know the city of Buffalo is behind and lacks in diversity downtown for food. There are some Polish and Italian communities here but it’s just not strong enough. There are many delis, bars, and pizza places, but not enough culture at all. After twenty reviews, this is our first eastern culture place as our first Chinese review.

This one of the only Chinese places near downtown that has a website and menu online and that deliver. This Chinese cuisine opened up just last year on Elmwood. They have a huge selection on their menu and it goes deep for rolls and Japanese meals. Their lunch specials are a deal priced at $4.75, which is the best bet on the menu.

Today, we called at 10am to no answer. They open at 11am but some places are open before then to take orders and apparently they weren't so we called later and placed the order. The order came with utensils and napkins, which was nice. We ordered the Sesame chicken, Spicy Tuna Hand Roll, Orange chicken, and the General TSOs chicken all with pork fried rice. Yes, all these meals are very similar too with sweet, bright sauce on chicken.

Probably one of the best features of the meal was not the food but what it came in. The lunch meals come in these great round containers as this avoids any use of foil. Although they also wrote on the container what lunch special each one is, the lid is see through so it is easier to see what's in them. They are plastic and they can also be reused if you wanted. First off, the chicken itself was a bit hard. The orange chicken's sauce was fine but the little orange skin slices in there were small so it got in the way of eating the actual meal. The sushi roll priced at about $5 was not worth. They ended up putting it in a separate bag, but they didn't need to since it was so small. There was only one roll hand wrapped in some black layer. The order called for hot & spicy but yet it was so cold without no hotness to it. It was disappointing as it felt like eating a five dollar scoop of rice instead. In the past, the hot & spicy chicken was not hot either. There were too many vegetables and not enough chicken. Do not count on your spicy orders to be spicy. Aside from that, the meals are enjoyable and they do listen exactly to what you ordered. One of us didn’t want any vegetables and they went with that.

Overall though, one lunch meal is worth the price and it will fill you up. They already became the go-to place for Chinese food here and if you're looking for something healthy and maybe try out some sushi, this will be the place for delivery.

Final Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Tokyo Shanghai Bistro
www.tokyoshanghaibistro.com
494 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222
(716) 886-3839

SPoT Coffee

2010-06-08T13:19:00.000-04:00

SpoT Coffee is a hip and young coffee shop that's nicer to sit in than a casual Tim Hortons and if Starbucks is too corporate for you. People really go here to sit on the couches and watch people. It’s mostly a scene than anything.

We’ve been meaning to go here and write about it since it’s been in the proximity of all the places we’ve reviewed lately, but the general response has told us service is slow and it's busy in there. We wanted to test this place out finally and see how long it would really take them to make some food for us. In the past, we shied away because it's a place that won't deliver since it's a coffee shop and less of a lunch place.

We got the impression this is a place where people set up first dates to. The biggest and maybe worst cliché question of all-time is, "Wanna go out for a cup of coffee?" They have hot drinks, wraps, salads, sandwiches, and desserts. They do have a catering menu too. There’s a new location in Williamsville on Main St. and an expanded Elmwood one. It's a close walk to the one on Delaware and Chippewa so we went there.

Back to the food, we went to a place that specializes in coffee for food and we didn't order any coffee. This clearly won't be a review on their coffee. We got the Spicy Tuna and Roast Beef focaccias which were sandwiches with wheat bread. After we ordered, the cashier literally screams back the orders to the kitchen in hope they're going to hear over the music and talking from a few yards away. We then moved to a second line to pick up our food. The sandwiches we got were cut in half and wrapped in foil to go and we got to pick if we wanted chips or a salad. The food was fine and the spicy tuna was in fact spicy with a nice hot flavor. They could have given us more food for the money though.

They are charging more for a sandwich than anyone in the area. It was about $9 for a sandwich or wrap and a real small side. We were almost ready to walk out after browsing the big menu on their wall inside. We do realize we're paying for the atmosphere and to listen to some old pop music, but still. This place is not worth it. We basically paid money to stand around and wait for fifteen minutes. It was $4 for a soup and $5 for chili. We wanted to get more but it exceeded our budget and we almost spent $20 on two little sandwiches. We didn't even get a single dessert.

We didn't have time to actually eat there so when we got back we had a hard time to figure out which one was the Roast Beef and Tuna. One of us ordered chips and we didn't get any chips... that's because they gave both of us salad... or really just lettuce spread around our sandwiches. We requested no tomato on the Roast Beef one, and there was tomato on it. Like we said, if you try to be specific here, they won’t relay that information on properly since the orders are briefly yelled out.

It took too long to get our food due to the number people there and how long it took for them to push out the food. They were all friendly and working so it wasn’t like they were just standing around though. This was our first food experience there. If we knew they pre-ordered, our experience may have been different, but we won’t be going there anytime soon.

Final Rating: 2.0 out of 5

SPoT Coffee
www.spotcoffee.com
227 Delaware Ave
Buffalo, NY 14202-2103
716-332-2299

Bada Bing Bar and Grill

2010-06-07T15:31:00.000-04:00

We've had lunch there a few times over the past couple months and this is our first visit to the place since we started these lunch reviews here. We've always called for pre-order since they don't deliver and the walk is only a few minutes. This place might be the best lunch place in Buffalo to pre-order ahead of time. At the time, it was deemed as our best visiting lunch experience.

It's so easy to place an order here by phone. They have one of the most friendly and relaxed services for lunch time. Today, we called and ordered 30 wings a half hour before noon for noon. The wings were half mild and half hot and we also got 5 blue cheeses. After a minute, we called again to change our order to half medium instead of mild to no problem at all.

April 8th was actually our first visit as we pre-ordered wings. This is easily the go-to place for wings during lunch time as you can tell. The wings were meaty, flavorful, and the price was right. If you preorder on time, there's no wait and no rush. The order came out right on time which was amazing. Plus, they have excellent service and they’re on time with the food and the bill.

At our second trip, the service again was in perfect form... only two waitresses around a bar and tables filling up our drinks and giving us our bill well on time without us even asking for it. Plus, we forgot we placed an order of fries when we got there since we were already impressed by our food. The fries, which were only $2.95, showed up to our wonder all hot and seasoned. We had jalapeño poppers stuffed with a lot of cheddar cheese that came with a dipping sauce. The pizza logs were deep fried to perfection with a marinara sauce. The mozzarella sticks were also fried to a golden brown with that same tantalizing sauce as the pizza logs.

Today was just like the rest at Bada Bing. One of us ate 15 hot wings and consumed 3 sides of blue cheese in a matter of 20 minutes. They have top 10 wings in Buffalo. The wings were cooked well and had a great flavor. Pay attention because the following contains three key words for their drinks: Free automatic refills. We were pretty much empty with our glasses as the waitress came by and asked how we are doing and she took our glasses to refill the drinks without us even saying anything. This is how it always is here. It's like they pre-read our minds. We had Pepsi so they do carry Pepsi products and not just Coke. In addition, they are never too busy here to make you feel welcomed. Before we left, they said have a good day.

Bada Bing has proved over and over to be the most satisfying and enjoyable lunch option in area to go and dine in. With the summer rolling around, Bada Bing is an excellent choice to escape your work boundaries, especially if you aren't afraid of spending a few dollars and pre-ordering ahead. They have a fun atmosphere for lunch time with flat screen televisions everywhere and it reminds you that you're not in the same building as where you work. They actually have 10 televisions that show ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN NEWS, and CNN all in HD. The wings are also on the cheap price side especially for having high quality. It's about $25 for 50 wings which is a deal. We've already had most of their appetizers and we would get them again. This is mostly a place to get pub food from for lunch. The only thing we haven't tried out yet that we want to but it's never available is the 3 Alarm Chili. Also, the sandwiches, that are basically a big hamburger with a side, range close to $9-10 total. Other than that, if you're looking for somewhere to sit down inside and have your meal in front of your face when you walk in, this is the place to go.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Bada Bing Bar and Grill
www.badabingbuffalo.com
115 West Chippewa Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-2006
(716) 853-2464

Rosalind's Catering

2010-06-04T14:55:00.001-04:00

We've had their paper menu stored away for months now and looked at it several times. None of us has really heard of the place or where it was located. The menu was referred by one of our co-workers who didn't even participate today. We couldn't figure out when to order from there but today was opportune. Today was one of our beloved coworkers' last day of work so a catered going away luncheon was set up.

Originally in the past we looked for places that catered. They are not located anywhere downtown, but they do deliver here. This is our only third catering experience for delivery and first for many for lunch here. It's also our first catering review.

We also needed many people to participate in hope of dragging the price per person down. Twenty people joined in at $7.25 per person plus tax. There was a delivery charge of $15 too. Unfortunately, they wouldn't cater the turkey or steak brochettes, deliver individual items, and they didn't have any dessert options on their menu.

The food was ordered the day before and the owner Mike called us at 9:15pm the night before to confirm the details. We ended up having the following:
· Boneless Chicken Cutlets
· Sausage Giambotta (Fresh Italian sausage, potatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, baked in our homemade sauce
· Italian Bow-Tie Pasta (Delicious bow tie pasta tossed with fresh vegetables, special seasoning and homemade Italian Dressing)
· Twice Baked Potatoes (Delicious homemade mashed potatoes milked with cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives)

Although they were late by a few minutes since they came from a distance, the food made up for it by a big margin. Everyone all around was giving thumbs up and mentioning how great the food and the choices were. This is probably the first place that came late but triumphed in the end with the food. Plus, they didn't forget a single item we ordered and had delivery techniques of keeping the trays hot.

The food really did feed 20 people and then some. Rolls came in a couple bags and these rolls were soft and fresh as well as the butter so it was easy to spread. The sausage was the new addition to the order over the turkey or steak and it exceeded expectations. The sausage had a nice taste to it without being too spicy or hard. It was pre-cut into pieces mixed with an amazing tomato sauce. It was so great that some of us put the sauce on the chicken so it formed something like a chicken cacciatore dish. The boneless chicken cutlets were basically chicken tenders baked to a nice crispy and tender way. All the trays were hot and we had our own serving spoons. The pasta and potatoes can't be overlooked because these complemented the meats well without being sour or bland.

The food felt like it really did come from an actual banquet facility. Away from pizza and wings, this was clearly the best lunch meal we've had so far for downtown Buffalo lunch. Even though the place is not exactly in downtown so there's no walking distance and we would need like 20 people again... the food quality was high for the price value, the menu selection had variety, there were fully pleased eaters, and their willingness on a short notice scores them the highest rating.

Final Rating: 5 out of 5

Rosalind's Catering
www.rosalindscatering.com
281 Tacoma Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14216-2313
(716) 874-1109

Prima Pizza & Pasta

2010-06-03T14:48:00.000-04:00

This is a three part review in one. We'll briefly go over the experience we had during our pizza eating contest, sub platter orders, and today's of pizza and wings and other items.

Their website is also fantastic with enough information for their three locations. They even have an online order form for their downtown location. Furthermore, they have a pizza builder tool to customize your own pizza for online ordering by dragging toppings on it while the pizza is divided into parts. It is probably the neatest online ordering menu system we’ve seen in Buffalo. Go ahead and check it out if you’re bored enough.

The pizza contest was held on March 26. It was between two men with the time limit of 20 minutes to eat a whole large pepperoni Prima pizza without the crust. The two men had a large pepperoni pizza to devour while bystanders ate other pizzas that were ordered when watching us. The winner’s time was 14 minutes and 56 seconds to eat a whole large pizza. However, Prima was short a large order of pizza for everyone else watching during the contest. The delivery guy had to return to deliver one of the pizzas while the contest was going on. The pizza, as agreed by both men, was not their best that time. It was dry, chewy, greasy, and bland. It was a poor pizza to eat for an eating contest. After the eating contest, we took time off from seeing that pizza again.

The sub platters are liked by many at work. It is one of our more popular requests and orders. Prima's sub platters are fun and inviting. You can order with whatever meats and such you want in the platters. The large platter is about $40 that will feed almost a dozen people. They leave all the condiments on the side to spread on bread and their brownie platter was plausible. We had two separate sub platter orders in the past as they will continue to receive orders from us for them.

Today we ordered for a group of approximately 30 people. The delivery order was exact, on time, and piping hot and fresh when delivered. The Deluxe Pizza literally had some of everything on it. The chicken wings we got with our order had a lot of flavor and it was better than most from we've tried in Buffalo from pizza places.

Additionally, two of us got the five piece chicken fingers with fries order. This item was worth the price. It was fulfilling loaded with a ton of fries. We requested extra blue cheese, but didn't get it. Instead we got a single blue cheese from Cain products. One box was labeled mild when it was supposed to be medium, but we think they just wrote it on the box wrong. The chicken fingers were decent size... not too large or small. They were hidden under the foil in a chicken wing box where when someone was going to toss out the box when finished, another person realized there was still one left hiding under the foil.

Their pizza is not among the best in Buffalo, but the rest of their foods do well. We got delivery each time but they are somewhat in a walking distance. By the pizza slice there is nothing special though. This isn’t the last time we’ll hear of Prima Pizza.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Prima Pizza & Pasta
www.primapizzapasta.com
38 West Chippewa Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-2206
(716) 852-5555

Luba's Place

2010-06-02T15:36:00.001-04:00

This small place is located on the corner of Delaware and Mohawk inside the Immigration building next to a HSBC bank. Two people mentioned it on the same day today and they didn’t know the name of the place. It was way too difficult to find online and there's barely any notice there's food inside.

As we walked into the door where the sign on the ground pointed "Breakfast and Lunch" from the outside, it wasn't the place we imagined it to be. We even walked by it and then turned around to ask this lady behind a snack bar where the cafe is and there isn't one. Instead, Luba’s Place is a snack bar and concessionary with sandwiches.

This place isn't a they too, but rather a she. There was just one lady working. It felt lonely in there with just her and a small kitchen behind her. There's no sit down area and really nothing around. There was a pizza open on the counter to show today is Pizza Day. We each ordered two sandwiches on buns which took about ten minutes for her to make.

We took the menu back with us and did the math ourselves and she miscalculated both our orders. She did pocket some change, but it wasn't a big deal since she's doing all the work by herself. The sandwiches are dirt cheap around the cost of $3. They are quite stuffed with whatever you order and the best part of it is that it's completely fresh from the bread to just about everything included. The meatball sandwich was very tasty. Nothing else comes with the sandwich... compared to Sue's who charges double the price and in return for more, you just get some potato chips and a pickle. They do have breakfast items such as eggs & toast, bagels, muffins, etc. For lunch, salads, drinks, snacks, and pizza from Canisius on Wednesdays are there. On the paper menu we took, it even states we can phone ahead our orders, which is nice.

At first thought what was going to get a real low rating turned out to better than expected after we ate our food. Fresh food, affordable prices, and within a close walking distance redeems itself for us to go back and anyone to try out.

Final Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Luba's Place
135 Delaware Ave
Buffalo, NY 14202-2416
(716) 852-4997

Jacobi's Pizza Express

2010-06-01T13:16:00.001-04:00

When we were walking around with the pizza box before and after lunch, at least five people asked us, "Pizza again?"

Jacobi's is located on South Elmwood by Tupper heading to route 33. This pizza place has been right under own noses for quite some time now... we just never attempted to discover if they were open or not. We have never seen anyone walk in or out of it and it has always looked dead and closed with nobody by it. Co-workers drive by it and even walk by it. They recently hung a Jacobi's flag out there to show some life. There is nothing online about this location and no one has ever mentioned it at work or ordered from there until one of us just brought it up today… due to that flag hanging.

We called them around 10am and someone actually picked up. After two quick questions that that they do deliver and sell by the slice, we ended up with delivery. All we ordered was the usual large pizza but with half pepperoni and half hot peppers. It was priced where it should be for delivery at about $15.

Upon delivery, the guy gave us a menu which was great as we forgot to ask. The delivery guy said they just re-opened up about a week ago, so hence the flag, and that the one in Kenmore is related as they're brothers. To our surprise, today as Tuesday was a large pizza special. The menu is huge for just re-opening. They have every day specials along with wings, tacos, salads, lots of subs and sandwiches, pasta, seafood, catering, and much more. The prices seem about right on most of the items.

This is a large pizza that could stuff two men with an appetite. The pizza, along with their blue cheese, was satisfying and it almost reminds us of how Carbone's was. The banana peppers actually had some hot taste to it without being bland or loaded with too many of them. The crust was average Buffalo size which is how most like it.

It could be the closest actual pizzeria on South Elmwood reaching downtown. It is worth walking to on a sunny day too. We would have to try their wings next as they do have something called super hot. Give it some time and this pizza place could be right up there for downtown.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Jacobi's Pizza Express
340 South Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14201-2139
(716) 848-4800

Fat Bob's Smokehouse

2010-05-28T15:16:00.001-04:00

We originally thought this place didn't deliver after talking about it with several co-workers months ago. It's not within walking distance, but we looked into it again and they do deliver for catering. As we called the day before the order for almost twenty people, we found out they also deliver for individual orders so we went with that since most of the requests were different sandwiches.

They told us the delivery charge was $15 and that all went to the driver. They did however lower it to $10 but the driver could have got more money if it wasn't a forced tip. The delivery guy was right on time at noon and came with everything. The names were on the orders and for the first time from anybody, they printed out the orders along with the names on computer paper. It was like an exact transcript of the phone call including where our building is located. This goes to show how organized they are.

Everyone's meal was great and looked great... no real complaints for these meals. The menu is what you can expect from a BBQ place. They do have a strong reputation for their BBQ in this area, as well as their bar at night. Mostly everyone ordered some kind of sandwich and a side. The average cost was about $8 here. The Memphis Pulled Pork and Sliced Texas Beef Brisket were the two popular orders. The meat in everyone's order was delicious and juicy. The sides that were fried went unnoticed at how well they tried to keep it fresh. The fries, onion rings, hush puppies, and sweet potato fries were wrapped in aluminum foil keeping them the right temperature without being soggy. Other sides such as the collard greens were placed in side cups.

It's hard to give a review when there was nothing too unordinary about it, but here we go. The side of macaroni and cheese was not the standard mac & cheese appeal. Here, they actually were Italian penne instead of the thin pasta you can get from a box. We thought the pulled pork meat was spoiled. The hush puppies were rock hard. The collard greens weren't cooked thoroughly. The BBQ baked beans were very tasty though.

The price was slightly more than average, but worth it to most. They did seem like dinner prices and dinner portions. Overall though, this place is a unanimous choice to order lunch from again.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Fat Bob's Smokehouse
www.fatbobs.com
41 Virginia Place
Buffalo, NY 14202-1323
(716) 887-2971

Fera's on Franklin

2010-05-27T14:02:00.001-04:00

One of the main reasons why we ordered from this place in the past was that they deliver. We've had delivery from there a couple times, most recently on May 14, to mixed results. After finding out this place is no more than a 4 minute walk, one of us along with a guest personally went there to try it out in person to get a fair opinion on the place if there's any difference from their delivery to dine in.

For the delivery order, the Cajun Chicken Taco did not taste like Cajun and didn't really have any chicken in it. It was mostly lettuce and it was rather a plain taste for something that costs $4.25. The menu is also in a complete disarray. Most of us agreed it is very unorganized. You'll see subs and sandwiches all over it in any spot and there's nothing that stands out to define what they're about. It's really a sub place. They don't charge tax on the menu so the prices you see are what you pay for. It closes at 2:30 p.m and opened on the weekdays which similar to Sue's.

In the past for delivery, we found out a major size difference of foods between the orders. Some things can be more money than others but have lower quality and less quantity too, and vice-versa. The subs are also 8" instead of a foot and the price average is $6. The subs were so small that they could be eaten in less than 5 minutes. One of us got the Bacon Blue Burger Sub while the other got a Bacon Blue Combo Plate that comes with a third pound burger on a roll... and it was just the same as the sub right down to the bread that was used. Another one of us got the Lasagna and it was more than anyone could have expected... it was probably the biggest in terms of portion.

Now for today. The subs are made fresh, but we should have maybe preordered for this day. Today, it was packed as my guest with me said it was unusual. They do have an eating area to the side and front, but it is a bit tight in there while standing around for an order. We had to wait a while until we got ours since it was busy that moment.

They have something called ‘The Bomb’ for $6.75 as their most expensive sub. It's an 8" sub on their menu and all it says is, 'Please ask, it's hot & spicy.’ It has capicola, salami, and sausage. When ordered, the guy said, "I need a bomb!" When the order was ready, the guy yelled out, "Whose got a bomb?" The sub came with banana peppers and it was loaded with salami. This was actually a thick sub, super greasy though, with a ton of meat in it, but not as hot as it could have been.

We also noticed next door to this place there are five places that have lease signs as they are all vacant. There was a cafe and the Buffalo Room, but it is a shame to see on Franklin Street which has nothing in them like a Fera's, who has virtually no competition right now. It’s an okay place with an opportunity to walk to and get delivery, but there’s just nothing there too impressive to keep coming back.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Fera's on Franklin
http://www.buffaloplace.com/popupleaf/ferasonfranklin/252
168 Franklin Street
Buffalo, NY 14202
716-856-6577

Salsarita's Fresh Cantina

2010-05-26T14:15:00.002-04:00

A Salsarita's recently opened up in downtown Buffalo in the past few years. At its Chippewa location we went too, we could have also faxed our order form so they do pre-order. They have a big catering menu and to our surprise, they would deliver too since we were looking for a Mexican place around in Buffalo that would deliver. However, it was a really nice day out so we walked there to get the full experience which only took a couple minutes to walk to.

When we walked in, it reminded us of a Subway for Mexican food except it has more of a margarita bar atmosphere than it being too Mexican. There’s a line and stations to put fillings in your order. There’s an area for a bar serving alcoholic drinks though we were unable to review the drinks for lunch. They have daily specials calling them: Mad Mondays, Tasty Tuesdays, Wild Wednesdays, Thirsty Thursday, and Fun Fridays. One of us got the Wednesday special which were the Nachos and a fountain drink. They had pizzas but we weren't tempted at all to get any and we didn't see anyone else having pizza.

We also got a taco and a burrito to compare. It was $2.79 for a beef taco. However, the burrito was $6.29 and all for an extra 4 dollars was the size of the shell as the only difference... and that was the price of a small burrito. The nachos, priced at $7.29, were the highlight. In a Subway type of line, we could say what we want on them like grilled chicken, lettuce, jalapenos, sour cream, etc. in front of our faces and it was rather quick. Ours was so buried with toppings that it was hard finding chips underneath it all when we were eating. We ended up using our forks to get through most of it initially. The guacamole tasted homemade and not from a can and had a very fresh taste. The hot salsa we got was the best part. There was an excellent kick to it as how it should be hot without being disgusting, too light, or too strong.

The service was indeed fast. We were in a long line but it didn't feel like it and only looked like it. One of us didn't get a drink, but was offered water which was very thoughtful. It was the busiest lunch place we've ever been in at Buffalo. It was so packed with workers who all look like they were on their lunch break and the music was playing moderately loud. It's also another place that has Coke products only.

At first, the Salsarita's on Chippewa was a weird location to put it on. It feels like it should be in a mall. After seeing everyone enjoying the food and atmosphere, this place is here to stay there. Everything tasted fine and it didn't quite feel like food from a chain even though it is. We also wonder if they have drive-thrus at their other locations. There's two in the suburbs now including one on the eminent Transit Road. The downtown Buffalo one we went to should also find additional success with no Taco Bell or Mighty Taco places in the area and it is a definite option for catering.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Salsarita's Fresh Cantina
www.salsaritas.com
110 West Chippewa Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-2007
(716) 845-5237

Destini's Pizzeria

2010-05-25T13:27:00.001-04:00

This pizza place was recommended to us by a couple co-workers and it's located a bit north of downtown. Their website left a bad impression on us as it is quite sloppy with words that are all in different colors and sizes that appear to be hyperlinks or not. There's also some ad banner at the top that makes it look like it was created in the nineties. Also, the menu might not load properly at first as it didn't for us a few times.

We ordered the Tuesday special which is a large pizza with a topping as we got pepperoni. We also got a side order of jalapeno poppers and a lunch special of a deep fried chicken whopper sandwich with fries. The delivery came on time and everything was there. The couple extra blue cheeses we requested though for fifty cents each were so small and it was probably the smallest extra cup of blue cheese we got from a pizza place. It's still much better than the lazy method of just a packet of Ken's blue cheese that Prima Pizza once gave us which isn't even that well. The jalapeno poppers were missing a certain hot flavor to them. They were hot in temperature, but it tasted like plain cheese poppers rather than having that jalapeno touch added.

The pizza didn't look like our usual Buffalo pizza. It looked different, but still fine. We've noticed lately pizzerias have been switching to using the square cut style, like this place, than the triangles. The pizza overall was very thin where you could fold it and eat it like a taco easily. It had a bunch of green colored spices on it and the crust was flat. It was so thin that two separate slices were sticking to the wax paper on the bottom and the cheese couldn't come off. It's a pizza where only two hungry men could finish... we've had pizzas, such as La Nova & Mister Pizza, where three men couldn't finish a large. After a while, we noticed the pizza filling us up and that there was more oil on it than sauce like at Casa-di-Pizza so it was harder to go down. The problem with most pizza places is that they forget one of the three main pizza ingredients. The dough and cheese are always present, but if there's just little to no sauce on it, then it isn't a complete pizza.

Aside from the pizza, this is actually a deep menu just for other things typically you can get else where. The whopper sandwich was a fine size and it had plenty of fries with packets of ketchup and salt. Plus, all the prices are cheaper than the casual deli and offer lunch and daily specials. Though we didn't explore the other parts of the menu in our mouths, it looks compelling enough to try their other foods from there another time. From pita sandwiches to cheap burgers to hoagies to the traditional deli sandwiches, the average cost is around $5. Think twice next time where you're ordering from because a pizza place might just work for other foods.

Final Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Destini's Pizzeria
www.destinispizzeria.com
900 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-1417
(716) 845-5555

Emerson Commons

2010-05-24T14:00:00.003-04:00

This lunch place is unique since it's a culinary arts school in the Buffalo School District and they serve lunch as part of their hands-on experience training. It's been around for over 50 years and they have about 400 students enrolled in the program.

Upon entering, we were impressed to see all the students in clean uniforms and wearing gloves with the restaurant itself was very clean. Behind the counters are students in chef uniforms cooking, carving, and serving in different stations and looking quite professional at it. There's also a back room where they do their official cooking in and they have a banquet facility. The soups you can serve yourself for $2.99 as well as the salad and fruit bar. The lunch operates like a cafe so it is quicker than having a waiter coming to you at a table. In opposition, you can't pre-order or have delivery and it's a bit of a walk than the norm. It's much nicer inside than City Hall but clearly not as spacey. Most people don't know it has lunch for the public despite being on Chippewa. They are open for lunch from 11:15 am to 1:30 pm.

Don't let a cafe served by students throw you off. At first the thought of using precious lunch time and venturing into having high school students make our lunch did not appeal to some of us. Their lunch menu is pretty classy offering what could even be dinner style entrees for affordable prices. One of us said the food might be too heavy for a lunch. On their site, they post the daily specials for that week. Besides their own website, there's hardly any mention on the web about them. Some of their specials just for this week are Italian Eggplant, Grilled Salmon, and Roast Lamb all for about $7-8. If you are a seafood lover they have different selections depending on the day. Herb crusted cod, Grouper Oscar, Grilled Salmon, Baked Haddock, Stuffed Rainbow Trout, and Battered Fish. If you are not a seafood lover, step up to the hot carving station. Their sandwiches are huge and tasty and you also get a cooked side or two with it. One of us had the hot carved turkey sandwich on a wheat roll and it was perfect. The turkey was extremely juicy and a plentiful amount with side items to choose from such as potatoes, salads, and more, all for $6.25. They also have a deep fryer unlike some places around here to cook up some fries. They also have pizzas by the slice for $2.55 and homemade desserts. The Butterfinger cheesecake was nice and soft without overbearing it with any flavor. It was more than meets the eye. We noticed in this restaurant is a common problem you will find at most restaurants; they only serve Coke products, as opposed to having the Pepsi or Coke option. We do in fact understand that they have contracts with the vendors, but personally we would like to see some soft drink choice.

We got the impression that everything here seems big and fresh, and it is. They carve in front of you, grill, and even put the onion rings or French fries in the fryer for you. It'll take some more time than usual, especially if you are at the carving station, but the end results are satisfying to try again.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Emerson School of Hospitality
www.buffaloschools.org/Emerson.cfm
70 West Chippewa St
Buffalo, NY 14202
716-816-3018

Zetti's Pizza & Pasta

2010-05-24T10:10:00.001-04:00

Almost a month ago on April 23, we ordered from the new Zetti's on Elmwood. This is Zetti's most recent opening after exiting from their Transit location in Williamsville that lasted only a few months during late 2009. This pizzeria has grown famously in Buffalo for having the best New York style pizza, which arguably they do have. The way to go is to get it by the slice there as one slice of their pizza is bigger than the average large slice. They also do a great job on their toppings.

We ended up ordering 6 XL pizzas, which looked liked they were in regular large size boxes.

· 1/2 Cheese 1/2 Pepperoni: never delivered!!
· Mild BBQ Chicken Pizza: enjoyed by most that indulged
· Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza: reported in as 50/60 split (some said "very good", another said "dry")
· Meat Lovers: good taste, sweet sauce
· Spinach Bruschetta: reported in as being "dry"
· Pepperoni & Banana Peppers: reported in as very good; peppers had a good bite and flavor

Overall the taste of the pizzas were fair and it was moist and sufficient enough with the toppings, but the temperatures were substandard. The delivery driver was also late by over 10 minutes. He parked down minutes away from where we are and we don’t know why. The order was shorted by 1 pizza and 3 sides of Bleu Cheese which were not even rung up.

The big question is, "Would we order again?" Normally no, but Lou, the manager, called us and was very apologetic about the experience being lackluster and offered if we ordered again, the whole order would be 50% off. Since they had a poor presentation, they ended up delivering another 2 pizzas that day (1 plain cheese and 1 pepperoni only) at no additional cost.

For having such a great New York pizza, they have maybe the worst customer service for a pizzeria in Buffalo. However, we are not the only ones who think this. It's amazing how a business can do so well and not appear to care. At times, you can come in there and see them drinking beer and cussing at each other. They are often rude to customers and make them wait at all their three locations. Their service drags down the rating, but people still go back because they enjoy their big NY pizzas.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Zetti's Pizza & Pasta
www.zettis.com
976 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222
716-882-2500

Sue's NY Deli

2010-05-21T16:06:00.003-04:00

We personally have tried about 90% of the menu items and various daily "specials" offered at Sue's, so we think we can adequately review such a lunch place. We personally have mixed reviews about Sue's. To start, there is no consistency with the food as in sometimes they have croissants, sometimes they don't. The soups are the same way too and it depends on how long it lasts throughout the week. If people order too much of it one day, it's gone that day.

They make a great chili, a variety of soups, wraps, salads, and sandwiches. The salads are always huge, but sometimes dry and needs a lot of dressing. Most of the food has a decent taste, however, they are overpriced compared to the area restaurants. Mainly, you get a small sandwich, some potato chips, and a pickle for $6-7. Sue's makes a fine BLT, but be careful, if you aren't paying attention; you will end up with a mouthful of mayonnaise.

The restaurant is crammed into the first floor of the 130 South Elmwood federal building. They do have another location on Main St, but the problem is they aren't open past 2pm or anytime on the weekend. People are confused if they are really a Greek place or not. They should also invest in a deep fryer for like fries, although they lean toward more of a health conscious crowd. You can call ahead of time to order and pick it up when you want and you can go there and pay for it ahead of time, which is always nice. If you don't order ahead of time, you're probably going to have to wait a few minutes in line, especially around noon, before they get to you. It is not handicap accessible by any means, nor is it a comfortable atmosphere to be able to sit during lunch. This is the place you eat at when you forget your lunch at home or a last minute thing, but definitely not somewhere you would make plans to go ahead of time.

Final Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Sue's NY Deli
www.suesnydeli.com
130 S. Elmwood Ave.
Buffalo, NY 14202-2465
716-852-0055

Jim's Steakout

2010-05-21T15:03:00.002-04:00

Jim's Steakout always seems like the most popular choice for lunch. Where we work, it's the default location where to order from for delivery when we aren't creative, when another order goes wrong, or when we just want a great sub.

With ten locations around the area and the suburbs of Buffalo and even one in Hawaii, they seem to be expanding quite often. They are open every day until 5am for most of them... so it is popular among the late night crowd... and some deliver during 11am to 2pm. Although, they have raised their prices in the past ten years so it seems pricey for the amount of food you're given, Buffalo people are just so used to Jim's and know what to expect. Other area restaurants could learn a thing or two from Jim's when it comes to consistency. People are in their comfort zone with Jim's and it is one of the food places people miss most when they leave the city.

Jim's, however, is one of the most expensive lunch places and people really don't take notice. Compared to Subway, it's almost double the cost of one 12" sub, but the increase cost is more than worth it. Figuring tax and tip, the average hot sub order reaches $10. However, there are reasons why people keep coming back.

Since we had a large number of orders, and to make it easy for us to tell whose is whose, they wrote our names on each order. This means you don't have to open every sub to identify which one is yours. They even put the names on the receipt. None of the orders were messed up or skipped.

The item that was ordered most was their classic, "Jim's Bleu," which is a Chicken Finger sub (hot, medium, mild, or even BBQ) and bleu cheese, topped with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and a American-Swiss cheese on a fresh toasted roll. Four people ordered this and we were all pleased with it. This happens to be the best item on the menu too. Second most common order was the Poutine fries, which you can't get in Rochester, NY, smothered in gravy and colby cheddar cheese that were described as "heavenly."

This is where to start to find a sub place in Buffalo then go from here. They call themselves Steakout. Maybe back in the day they started out with steak. We had 14 orders and they were all pretty much subs. They are now famous for their subs.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Jim's Steak-Out
www.jimssteakout.com
92 West Chippewa Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-2011
(716) 885-2900

Vito's Market

2010-05-21T10:26:00.000-04:00

We've been looking for a place that would deliver and cater and only cost us no more than 7 dollars a person. Vito's looked to be that place. Unfortunately, we didn't get enough people due to late notice for catering and people were also confused about their menu online if it's just all catering or individual items. We were stuck between catering service or not and we decided going with individual items.

Vito’s has a selection of sandwiches and wraps and they’re in the Main St. Fountain plaza. You can order online also which is neat. Looking at their menu, it doesn’t say much about what it comes with it like macaroni salad, fries, coleslaw, etc like some places do. They also charge eight dollars for delivery.

We were all set with placing the order for about a dozen or so co-workers and upon doing so, this is what happened:

1. Specials menu online changes EVERY DAY (soups and sandwiches). So Gumbo was not today's option, nor was Chicken Cordon Bleu.
2. Delivery DOES NOT accept cash.
3. Owner originally did not want to wrap orders individually; she wanted to place all orders on 1 platter.
4. Simple phone call took 16 minutes.

So, the order was cancelled on the day we were all expecting food from Vito's. This is poor business especially when dealing with a group of customers who are trying out the place for the first time... it's a bad first impression.

Since we didn't get a chance to eat their food because we didn't get past through the ordering process, this place receives a low rating.

Final Rating. 0.5 out of 5

Vito's Market
www.vitosmarket.com
40 Fountain Plaza
Buffalo, NY 14202-2229
(716) 858-5858

Casa-di-Pizza

2010-05-21T10:25:00.000-04:00

About a week ago, we faced the most disgusting food item we have ever ordered for lunch in Buffalo. The reason why we are spitting out this review now is because it is highly unlikely we will ever go back. This was our first time and probably last time with this place. No, it wasn't their pizza that was that bad.

We've been on a streak of trying to find hot chicken wings that are actually, well, hot. Almost always the hot wings from pizza places are borderline medium. We were in the mood again for hot wings so we looked at their menu and couldn't decide between the hot & spicy or the suicidal. When we placed the order for our pizza and wings, we asked what their hottest wings were and the guy said the suicidal were the way to go... and we very much regret that decision of picking so.

Aside from the wings, the pizza was fine, but real greasy. It didn't fit well in the stomach and felt like grease was going down rather than substance. This was noticeable after a couple slices. The thin cheese on it had that look like it was out in the cold for a while then warmed back up. More importantly, instead of discussing the pizza anymore, the reason why this place was a disaster was because of their chicken wings. The experience with the wings dragged down the pizza.

For some reason, we ordered twenty suicidal wings instead of ten and no more than five were eaten total. We had three people each try out a wing when we got them during lunch and neither of us could get through one of them. It was easily the most horrendous and appalling sight of wings ever seen… through television, Internet, person… anywhere.

The wings had this dark brown color like it was some crusty barbeque sauce. Once you touch a wing, most of it went on our fingers like we were grabbing it off and it was just awful. The wings weren’t even cooked long enough. They did though have some hot factor, but not in a tasteful manner. It wasn’t your traditional buffalo style sauce we’re all used to seeing... it was far from it.

The only thing redeemable from the box of chicken wings was the celery, but even those were hit with the damage of the sauce and smell. Since we had so many wings leftover, we ended up showing these wings to countless number of co-workers afterwards and they all practically ended up saying the same thing... that it looked like someone took a pile of crap on it. Please at all costs stay away from the wings at this place.

Final Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Casa-di-Pizza
www.casadipizza.com
477 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222-2013
(716) 883-8200

Carbone's Pizza

2010-05-20T12:48:00.003-04:00

We never heard of a pizza place called Carbone's despite having a pretty strong knowledge on the pizza places in Buffalo. Not to get confused with the Carbone's in Rochester as this place is run by different owners. It was recommended to us by one of our superiors and we found out it is only four minutes away southeast of downtown as we called up our order for delivery.

Their main website has been and still is down for weeks since we first found out about it. It is always a bad sign when a website has a Gateway Timeout error. I mean, this is 2010. Every place should have a functional website by now. Not being able to find a menu or having a paper one in hand turns off people from ordering. After hard research, we found a menu online. The prices are probably outdated since we got a large pepperoni pizza ($12.85), which is very basic, and that alone came to about $19.80 dollars total, along with a couple bleu (or is it blue?) cheeses. Menu said 8 slices and we got it cut into 12 slices. After all that trouble of finding out about this place, we just got a large pizza... but you can tell a lot just by the most common pizza order. You can't mess up on that order and delivery for just a large. A large pepperoni pizza is what's compared the most between other places.

Apparently, one of us had pizza from Carbone's in Rochester the night before. Is the pizza similar to the one in Buffalo? The answer is yes… but actually very identical. The pizza box was different, but the pizza itself was pretty much the same. That person said, “This pizza is a taste of Rochester.” Just by lifting the top of the box, the look of the pizza was enticing and how it should look for a large. As requested, it was cut into 12 triangle pieces instead of squares. The pizza was not hard or burnt and had enough sauce on it. It wasn’t thick or thin on the dough and the crust wasn’t a problem.

What’s amazing is that another one of us has tried out at least 50 pizza places in Buffalo and this pizza is startling to wonder why aren’t they more popular around the area of Buffalo. Now, you know who they are and just how delicious their pizza is. Based on their pizza alone, it scores a high rating and it is always great news when you hear we'd be going back for some more again.

Final Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Carbone's Pizza & Subs
www.carbonespizza.com
http://www.allmenus.com/ny/buffalo/147370-carbones-pizza/menu/
568 South Park Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14204-2626
(716) 855-1749

Hot Dog Guy

2010-05-19T15:32:00.001-04:00

Trying to find a hot dog can in fact prove to be a challenge. If you are near the corner of West Huron and Delaware, you will find a food vendor that has not only a wide selection of foods to grill, but a good cheeseburger.

From Sahlen’s hot dogs to Italian and Polish Sausage, from Cheeseburgers to Sauerkraut and Junkyard dogs; this guy is sure to fill your stomach and not empty your wallet. The cheeseburger is an all ground beef patty topped with a Nacho cheese sauce, on a fresh tasty roll; all for $3.50. If you prefer the hot dogs he sells, he has an amazing special; 2 Sahlen hot dogs and a 12oz can of soda for $4.00. His condiment selection and his topping selection go without compare. For condiments he has mustard, ketchup, relish, diced onions, hot sauce, and Jalapeño peppers. For toppings he has Sauerkraut, Peppers and Onions, Nacho Cheese Sauce, and Chili Sauce. If you're up for something different, he's got a Black Angus Beef Dog for only $2.50.

The guy is always out there... wind, rain, and the cold, he'll be there for your grilling needs during the right season. You can count on him. He’s fast handling the money and the grilling while cooking up for the next customers in the line. It takes less than a minute for you to get your hot dog. The only problem is finding a garbage can when you’re done and maybe a sitting area. The food isn't fresh since it's a vendor so the patties were frozen and he only has Nacho cheese available. If you're ordering a lot, you'd have to be patient. Other than that, he gets a lot of costumers, especially when it’s sunny and warm outside, and be expected to get served within five minutes. He’s well-respected and customers continue to go back. This is a perfect summer option for a quick and appetizing lunch.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

City Hall Cafe

2010-05-18T14:15:00.002-04:00

I had lunch at City Hall yesterday. Yes, City Hall offers food believe it or not. Not many people know there's a cafe inside City Hall. It's not easy to find if you're walking around it. In fact, the entrance to the cafe is behind City Hall. Not only is there nothing to give the slightest hint there’s food at City Hall from the building’s exterior, there is nothing that says cafe until you get in there. Once entering from the back on Elmwood, the cafe is down some steps into what is almost a basement area. Inside the cafe, there are plenty of tables, a hot plate service, tons of drinks, salad bar, soups, cakes, and wow now this looks like a fine lunch place.

There’s nothing quite like this open to the public for lunch. A lot of officers and businessmen in suits visit, but it is open to anyone. There's an open salad bar and a select few of soups where you can serve yourself. Premade sandwiches and wraps along with some potato salads and such are in a refrigerator. Best of all, there's a hot place like a real cafeteria style that offers hot meals as well as pizza, macaroni and cheese, and fried fish. People often ask where the best fish fry is. After trying a dozen or so places, City Hall's fish fry is right up there. The fish fry is so enormous that they have to break it in half for you to fit on your plate. However, you can't call ahead and pre-order and being on the bottom of city hall might turn some people off.

Even though their food is made for the mass numbers cafe-style, the fish fry along with their food should not be overlooked anymore. This place offers many options for food to go back and try out more and it’s big enough for many groups of people to go. Don’t be strayed away because it is a cafe and it is City Hall. It’s almost a hidden gem for lunch. There isn’t even a mention of its existence online... until now.

Final Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Buffalo City Hall
65 Niagara Square (enter from behind on Elmwood)
Buffalo, NY 14202-3392
(716) 851-5847

Subway

2010-05-18T13:13:00.005-04:00

I haven't eaten at a Subway in years. For a person who talks and eats food so much, Subway was never really a choice since I found their subs to be not filling or having an option on the menu for something Buffalo style... despite many Subways around the area. This Subway is pretty much the closest place to have lunch at which is weird for the middle of downtown Buffalo. This might be the only review of a commercial food service place and it happens to be the first one posted on here after visiting and eating from several in the area.

I didn't have any of their coupons or anything, but I was in the mood for a sub. I was reminded of their 5 dollar every day foot long subs so I ordered one of those. The two guys behind the counter were in two stations and the line was hardly existent at noon because of their speed. Standing in line and then moving across to tell what ingredients you want on your sub never stood out to me. I just want to order something and let that be that. However, from the time I ordered my Spicy Italian sub to finishing up at the cashier, it was no more than a couple minutes long. The sub was actually not that bad from what I originally had in the past... or maybe just because I had jalapeños on it which enhanced it.

I had low expectations for Subway, but the experience was just fine and I would be going back after a long hiatus. It was cheap, fast, and quite fresh... and with some time remaining in the thirty minute lunch break, I am glad I got a small cookie platter which had a dozen chocolate chip cookies. I'm someone who is against American fast food chains as my new year's resolution two years ago was not to eat any fast food and I've still kept up with it. I will be going back to test their consistency which is vital to every lunch place.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Subway
www.subway.com
120 West Chippewa Street
Buffalo, NY 14202-2007
(716) 856-0194

Our Mission

2010-05-14T09:57:00.000-04:00

Our mission is to provide workers in downtown Buffalo alternates to making and bringing a lunch by offering criticism and reviews of places that serve lunch in Buffalo. Our focus is to bring out and discover the best places to eat lunch from for downtown Buffalo workers. These all don't have to be restaurants. Any place that serves food from a hot dog vendor to a hotel's cafe counts. An average worker also has a limit of a 30 minute lunch period sometime around noon. The places can either offer delivery or be within a walking distance of five minutes with the starting point being central downtown by the new courthouse. Given the opinion of the writers, each post will rate, suggest, and recommend lunch places.